ORBIS Canada

340 College Street, Suite 375
Toronto, ON M5T 3A9
Board Chair: Peter Allan
Vice President: Simon P Holland

Website: www.can.orbis.org
Charitable Reg. #: 88649 0994 RR0001
Sector: Health
Operating Charity

Charity Rating

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Donor Accountability

Grade: B-

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

Financial Transparency

Audited financial statements available only through official request for information from Canada Revenue Agency [ Audited financial statement for most recent year ]

Need for Funding

Funding Reserves Program Costs

Spending Breakdown

Full-time staff #1

Avg. Compensation $94,999

Top 10 Staff Salary Range

$350k + 0
$300k - $350k 0
$250k - $300k 0
$200k - $250k 0
$160k - $200k 0
$120k - $160k 0
$80k - $120k 1
$40k - $80k 0
< $40k 0
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2015

About ORBIS Canada:

Founded in 1982 and based in Toronto, Orbis Canada is the Canadian fundraising arm of Project Orbis International (Orbis International), which operates out of New York City. Orbis and Orbis Canada aim to transform lives through access to quality eye health and envision a world where no one is needlessly blind or visually impaired. Orbis Canada raises funds for Orbis International to support its goal. The charity states that 285 million people are visually impaired across the globe – 246 million have impaired vision and 39 million are blind – and 80% of all visual impairments can be avoided or cured. Orbis International classifies its activities under three major program buckets: training, advocacy and research.

With its Training program, Orbis International trains eye care professionals by partnering with local hospitals, through its Flying Eye Hospital and through its Cybersight telemedicine program. The charity takes a team approach with training – it does not train just eye doctors, but the entire eye health team, including nurses, biomedical engineers, health staff and community workers. In 2015, Orbis International ran 32 hospital-based programs where it partnered with local hospitals. The charity also reports performing 65,508 eye surgeries, 2,125,401 eye screenings and exams, and trained 30,326 eye care professionals – 1,414 eye doctors and 28,912 nurses, biomedical engineers, health staff and community works – within the year. Professionals who received training included 276 eye doctors and 404 other medical professionals through the charity’s Flying Eye Hospital, a specially-equipped aircraft. The charity reports performing 280 surgeries and laser treatments on the plane in 2015, and screened and diagnosed 639 patients. Cybersight is an internet-based telemedicine service that enables eye care professionals to connect with volunteer eye doctor mentors around the world and receive training and guidance online.

Orbis International advocates for the visually impaired, working to change policies and budgets to improve eye health on a local, national and global scale. The charity aims to improve access to quality eye health care, and also improve the public’s understanding of the social and economic burden of blindness. Orbis International also conducts eye health research, looking at the impact eye health has on people, communities and economies. The charity publishes new knowledge through studies, research projects, peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations.

Financial Review:

ORBIS Canada is a small-cap charity with total donations and fundraising revenue of $810k in F2015. Administrative costs are 12% of revenues and fundraising costs are 29% of donations and fundraising. Per dollar donated to the charity, $0.59 goes towards its programs, which falls outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. ORBIS Canada’s funding reserves of $1.1m can cover annual program costs for 2.4 years.

This charity report is an update that is currently being reviewed by ORBIS Canada. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 23, 2017 by Katie Khodawandi, with further updates coming in late summer after Ci receives F2016 audited financials from the charity.

Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending December 		201520142013
Administrative costs as % of revenues 12.2%13.4%15.9%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 29.3%30.8%26.2%
Program cost coverage (%) 239.0%454.2%264.0%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $s 		201520142013
Donations 810,372825,237763,364
Government funding 0046,248
Investment income 3211,2631,404
Other income 00100,337
Total revenues 810,693826,500911,353
Program costs - International 440,054216,018483,097
Program costs - Canada 30,326121,04772,464
Administrative costs 99,103110,276144,330
Fundraising costs 237,522253,825199,776
Cash flow from operations 3,688125,33411,686
Funding reserves 1,124,0011,531,0051,466,452
Note: Ci used international program costs reported in the charity’s T3010 CRA filings, which appear to be going to Project ORBIS International. Government funding in F2013 represents amounts received from the Canadian International Development Agency. Other income in F2015 represents contributions from Project ORBIS International.

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