Dying with Dignity Canada

500 - 1835 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M4S 1X8
CEO: Helen Long
Board President: James Cowan

Charitable Reg. #:11889 0086 RR0001

STAR RATING

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

[Charity Rating: 1/5]

✔+

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

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

B-

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.

36%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 36 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Dying with Dignity Canada:

Founded in 1982, Dying with Dignity Canada (DWDC) seeks to improve individuals' quality of dying, protect end-of-life rights, and help Canadians avoid unwanted suffering. DWDC focuses on medical assistance in dying (MAID). The charity has 13 active chapters across Canada with a head office in Toronto. DWDC has three programs: Advocacy, Support, and Education. The charity does not provide a breakdown of its spending on its programs.

The charity’s Advocacy program works to ensure that Canada’s assisted dying laws follow the Constitution, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In F2020, DWDC's advocacy efforts focused on Bill C-7. The bill changes assisted dying eligibility and includes individuals whose death is not reasonably foreseeable. This allows for individuals with conditions such as dementia to make advanced applications for MAID. The charity sent over 50,000 letters and met with 19 members of parliament in support of the new legislation.
 
DWDC’s Support program helps those at the end of their lives seeking medical assistance in dying (MAID). In F2020, DWDC reports 989 patients were supported through phone calls, emails, and interactions to help navigate the MAID process.
 
The charity's Education program informs people on MAID planning, patient rights, and their legal end-of-life options. In F2020, DWDC reports that 3,750 people attended one of its seven End in Mind webinars. In F2020, the charity also developed an Advance Care Planning Kit: a resource to help Canadians express their end-of-life wishes. 
 
DONOR NOTE: In 2020 there was a $1.75m legal case between Dying with Dignity Canada and its former CEO. Information can be found in the Globe and Mail's article. We don't have additional updates on this on whether it has been resolved.

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Results and Impact

Dying with Dignity Canada reports its advocacy efforts helped for the passing of Bill C-7 in March 2021. 

While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of DWDC’s results and impact. This charity is not yet rated on impact (n/r).  

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Finances

Dying with Dignity Canada has donations of $1.5m and received $59k in donated goods. Donations decreased 71% from $5.0m in F2019. This is due to a lack of bequests. The charity received $222k in government funding, representing 12% of total revenues. Administrative costs are 29% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 35% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 64%. For every dollar donated, 36 cents go to the cause. This is outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Dying with Dignity Canada has $7.7m in funding reserves. The charity could cover 759% or around 7 and a half years of annual program costs with current reserves.

In F2020, DWDC paid external fundraisers $106k to collect $315k in donations. Meaning it costs DWDC $0.34 to raise $1 using external fundraisers.  

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Dying with Dignity Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on July 26, 2021 by Brenleigh Jebb.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending December
202020192018
Administrative costs as % of revenues 28.9%10.5%4.9%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 35.4%10.9%2.0%
Total overhead spending 64.3%21.4%6.9%
Program cost coverage (%) 758.7%814.3%556.8%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $s
202020192018
Donations 1,462,3835,036,3795,634,182
Goods in kind 59,12055,66198,600
Government funding 222,0778,7870
Investment income 126,930135,38246,143
Other income 6,24210,5488,355
Total revenues 1,876,7525,246,7575,787,280
Program costs 1,020,2911,101,126891,013
Administrative costs 505,749533,926280,673
Fundraising costs 517,035551,202111,465
Total spending 2,043,0752,186,2541,283,151
Cash flow from operations (166,323)3,060,5034,504,129
Capital spending 12,65617,6687,420
Funding reserves 7,740,6668,966,7844,961,019

Note: Ci reported administrative, program, and fundraising costs from the charity’s T3010 filings with the CRA in F2020 and F2019. In F2018 the charity’s T3010 did not reconcile with the audited financial statements. Ci allocated line items as seen fit to program, administrative and fundraising costs. As a result, F2018 fundraising and administrative costs may be underreported. Ci removed amortization from program and administrative costs in F2020 and F2019. The difference between reported fundraising costs on the charity’s T3010 and audited financial statements was removed from program costs. Ci reported the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy as government funding, increasing revenues by $222k in F2020.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 12

Avg. compensation: $76,605

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
0
$160k - $200k
1
$120k - $160k
0
$80k - $120k
3
$40k - $80k
6
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2020

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

The following comment was made on a past profile. Further comments may be forthcoming. 

Dying With Dignity is committed to financial transparency and best practices in program tracking and measurement.  We encourage potential donors to visit the social results reporting section of our website for more information about our goals, our programs and our accomplishments. Potential donors are encouraged to contact our Treasurer, Fundraising Committee Chair or Executive Director by email or at 1.800.495.6156  to discuss their areas of interest and receive any further information they require.

Charity Contact

Website: www.dyingwithdignity.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 416-486-3998

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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001