5215 Jean-Talon Street West
Montreal, QC H4P 1X4
Executive Director: Élise Desaulniers
Board Chair: Samira Sakhia

Charitable Reg. #:11921 9954 RR0001

STAR RATING

Ci's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics:

[Charity Rating: 4/5]

✔+

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.

A-

RESULTS REPORTING

Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.

n/r

DEMONSTRATED IMPACT

The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.

NEED FOR FUNDING

Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.

86%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 86 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Montreal SPCA:

Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a 4-star, financially transparent charity. It has an above average results reporting grade and its overhead costs are within Ci’s reasonable range. The charity has $6.1m in reserve funds, which can cover just under nine months of annual program costs.

Founded in 1869, Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Montreal SPCA) was Canada's first animal welfare organization and is currently the largest animal protection organization in Quebec. Its mission is to protect animals against abuse, represent their best interests, ensure their well-being, raise public awareness and develop compassion for all living beings. Montreal SPCA’s activities include a shelter, animal adoption, a foster program, a medical clinic, animal investigations, and advocacy.

Medical clinic – 42% of program spending

Montreal SPCA’s spay & neuter activities include the Trap-Neuter-Release-Maintain (TNRM) program and the Mittens-Montreal SPCA Targeted Permanent Sterilization Clinic. Mittens-Montreal was introduced in 2015 after the charity received a large donation to building the clinic and serves low-income pet owners. Both programs work to reduce the cat and dog overpopulation problem in the city. In F2022, the TNRM program sterilized 2,506 animals. Montreal SPCA adds that, since the start of the TNRM program, it has sterilized 7,000 stray cats. From January to June 2022, the charity performed 3,075 surgeries. Montreal SPCA states that it only practices euthanasia as a last resort, either for animals with the most serious ailments or those who arrive at the shelter dying.

Animal shelter and foster program – 33% of program spending

In F2022, Montreal SPCA’s shelter welcomed 12,309 animals. This included 6,673 cats, 1,277 dogs, 3,252 wildlife, 866 small pets, 197 birds and exotic animals and 44 farm animals. From January 2022 to June 2022, the charity reports that the average length of stay including (excluding) foster care was 22 (11) days for a cat, and 13 (9) days for a dog, 29 (19) days for a rabbit and 35 (25) days for small pets. Montreal SPCA reports that at the end of F2022, it had nearly 300 animals in foster care.

Animal Cruelty Investigations – 20% of program spending

Through its Investigations Division, Montreal SPCA enforces laws protecting animals from mistreatment. The charity’s inspectors conduct investigations to enforce these laws in response to reports of abuse, neglect, and abandonment. In F2022, the division received 2,625 complaints and opened 1,523 new investigations. The team visited over 4,474 animals overall.

Animal protection advocacy – 5% of program spending

Through its advocacy program, Montreal SPCA fights for improved animal protection laws in Quebec. In F2022, its petition against renting agreements that forbid animals received 33,157 signatures and was presented to the government. The charity also organised the first electoral debate about animal protection.

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Results and Impact

In F2022, Montreal SPCA’s shelter saw 4,018 animal adoptions, a 28% increase compared with F2021. This includes 2,796 cats, 391 dogs, 263 rabbits, 147 birds and exotic animals and 37 farm animals.

The charity’s investigation team removed 147 animals from dangerous households and filed 17 convictions as a result of investigations.

In F2022, Montreal SPCA’s advocacy work led to the ban of gas chambers used for euthanasia in Quebec. It also led the province to ban cat declawing and other surgical procedures performed for owner convenience. Thanks to Montreal SPCA’s lobbying, dogs held on a leash can now take the Montreal subway. The charity’s petition with this goal received 16,00 signatures.

While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Montreal SPCA's results and impact. 

This charity is not yet rated for impact (n/r).

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Finances

Montreal SPCA is financially transparent. Its audited financial statements are publicly available on its website.

Montreal SPCA received donations and special events revenue of $7.0m in F2022. Administrative costs are 2% of revenues (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 12% of donations. This means overhead costs are 14%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 86 cents are available for programs, which falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. In F2021 and F2020, Ci reported administrative costs from the charity’s T3010 filing with the CRA. As the F2022 filing is unavailable at the time of this profile update, administrative costs are likely understated for the most recent year.

Montreal SPCA has reserve funds of $6.1m, including $875k of donor-endowed funds. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity can cover just under nine months of annual program costs.

At the time of this profile update, the charity’s F2022 T3010 filing with the CRA is not publicly available. Hence, the most recent staff compensation information is from F2021.

Montreal SPCA uses external fundraisers as part of its fundraising activities. For the same reason as above, the most recent information on external fundraisers is from F2021. In F2021, Montreal SPCA paid external fundraisers $498k to raise $1.1m for a cost of 47 cents per dollar raised.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Montreal SPCA for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 28, 2023 by Victoria Allder.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending December
202220212020
Administrative costs as % of revenues 1.8%7.5%7.6%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 11.8%17.5%24.6%
Total overhead spending 13.6%25.0%32.2%
Program cost coverage (%) 70.7%76.8%66.2%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202220212020
Donations 6,0103,8721,945
Goods in kind 5791175
Government funding 01,8251,753
Fees for service 3,0052,7612,793
Special events 9401,0521,183
Investment income 516024
Total revenues 10,0639,6627,872
Program costs 7,3986,5615,367
Administrative costs 177721599
Fundraising costs 823862769
Other costs 142142138
Total spending 8,5398,2866,872
Cash flow from operations 1,5241,3761,000
Capital spending 00311
Funding reserves 6,0765,9394,445

Note: Ci adjusted for donated goods in kind, affecting revenues by $57k in F2022, $91k in F2021 and $175k in F2020. Ci included donated shares in donations, increasing donations by $24k in F2022, $110k in F2021 and nil in F2020. In F2021 and F2021, Ci reported government revenue from the charity’s T3010 filing with the CRA and backed this amount out of donations. At the time of this update, the F2022 T3010 filing is unavailable so this adjustment could not be made for the most recent year.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 54

Avg. compensation: $67,011

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
0
$160k - $200k
0
$120k - $160k
0
$80k - $120k
7
$40k - $80k
3
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2021

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

Charity Contact

Website: www.spca.com
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 514-735-2711

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