Dying with Dignity Canada

500 - 1835 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M4S 1X8
CEO: Helen Long
Board President: Bev Heim-Myers

Charitable Reg. #:11889 0086 RR0001

STAR RATING

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

[Charity Rating: 3/5]

✔+

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.

60%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 60 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Dying with Dignity Canada:

Dying with Dignity is a three-star charity. It has a B+ results reporting grade, which is above average. For every dollar donated to the charity, 60 cents go to the cause, which is outside of Ci's reasonable range.

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 12 active chapters across Canada with a head office in Toronto. In F2022 the charity created a new chapter in Cowichan, B.C.. Dying with Dignity Canada hosted the World Federation of Right to Die Societies International Conference in F2022. The charity reported over 200 registrants from 17 countries attended the conference. DWDC has three programs: Advocacy, Support, and Education. The charity does not provide a breakdown of its spending on its programs.

Advocacy: DWDC’s Advocacy program works to ensure that Canada’s assisted dying laws follow the Constitution, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In F2022, its Advocacy program focused on the inclusion of those with mental disorders within bill C-7. In F2022, DWDC engaged with the media 120 times. This included 52 letters to the editor and opinion pieces in response to misinformation about MAID. The charity reported its supporters sent thousands of letters to Members of the Legislative Assembly. DWDC engaged in over 70 meetings and communications with MPs and 117 with Senators. In F2022, the charity launched an advocacy campaign to remove unfair barriers to MAID access. 2,569 people signed this campaign in F2022.

Support: DWDC’s Support program helps those at the end of their lives seeking MAID. The charity engaged in 2,586 support activities in F2022. Support activities are defined as calls and emails with individuals requesting end-of-life support. DWDC reported its website impressions for its Support program pages. Advanced Care Planning (ACP) Kits received 14,292 visits, MAID Request Forms received 4,124 visits, and Patient Rights Guides received 3,600 visits.

Education: DWDC’s Education program informs people on MAID planning, patient rights, and their legal end-of-life options. Due to an increase in misinformation surrounding MAID, DWDC created a Myths and Facts page on its website. This page achieved 13,041 views in F2022. The charity delivered 36 webinars across its chapters in F2022. DWDC provided four new resources in F2022: a MAID Navigation Guide, What is MAID, 11 Navigating a Request for MAID Videos, and a MAID Assessment Guide.

The charity is being sued by its previous CEO for wrongful dismissal. The claim and legal costs are covered by Dying with Dignity Canada's insurance. More information can be found here

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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. Bill C-7 expanded the law to permit anyone who considers their condition to be intolerable to qualify for death by lethal injection.

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

DWDC does not disclose its program costs within its audited financials. As such, Ci reported administrative, program, and fundraising costs from the charity’s T3010 filings with the CRA. 

Dying with Dignity Canada received $2.5m in donations in F2022 and $114k in goods in kind. Administrative costs are 15% of revenue, excluding investment income, and fundraising costs are 24% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 40%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 60 cents are available to go to the cause. This is outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

The charity has $7.7m in reserve funds. DWDC could cover 437%, or four years and four months of its annual program costs with its current reserves.

In F2022, DWDC paid external fundraisers $314k to collect $827k in revenue. As such, it costs Dying with Dignity Canada 38 cents to raise one dollar 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 August 15, 2023 by Liam Chapleau.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending December
202220212020
Administrative costs as % of revenues 15.4%9.6%28.6%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 24.4%35.8%35.4%
Total overhead spending 39.8%45.3%63.9%
Program cost coverage (%) 437.3%569.6%758.7%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $s
202220212020
Donations 2,511,5521,861,8301,462,383
Goods in kind 113,96472,20359,120
Government funding 3,571204,655222,077
Investment income (154,934)53,672126,930
Other income 69,548(6,589)26,771
Total revenues 2,543,7012,185,7711,897,281
Program costs 1,758,0701,386,0991,020,291
Administrative costs 415,235203,732505,749
Fundraising costs 612,015665,520517,035
Total spending 2,785,3202,255,3512,043,075
Cash flow from operations (241,619)(69,580)(145,794)
Capital spending 6,70626,76112,656
Funding reserves 7,688,1617,895,0487,740,666

Note: Dying with Dignity's audited financial statements do not disclose overhead costs. This information comes from the charity's T3010 filings with the CRA. Ci removed amortization from program and administrative costs. The difference between reported fundraising costs on the charity’s T3010 and audited financial statements was removed from program costs. DWDC reports its government revenue below the line. When added back, revenue increased by $4k in F2022, $205k in F2021, and $222k in F2020. To report on a cash-flow basis, Ci accounts for deferred revenue. This affected revenues by ($nil) in F2022, ($21k) in F2021, and $21k in F2020. The charity did not report the source of deferred revenue. As such, Ci accounted for deferred revenue as other revenue.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 14

Avg. compensation: $88,243

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
1
$160k - $200k
0
$120k - $160k
1
$80k - $120k
2
$40k - $80k
6
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2022

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

Dying With Dignity Canada is committed to financial transparency and best practices and continuous improvement in program measurement and reporting. As noted above, we have not yet been rated for our impact. At Dying With Dignity Canada, our number one priority is the impact we have on Canadians. Our goal is to provide client-centric support to those looking for information, education or who are navigating their end-of-life choices including medical assistance in dying.

Our advocacy work has helped to secure the medical assistance in dying (MAID) legislation (Bill C-14), as well as the waiver of final consent and MAID for those whose death is not reasonably foreseeable (Bill C-7).  We continue to make progress and actively advocate for advance requests for MAID.

While we are focused on respecting the generosity of our donors by spending carefully, decreasing our overhead costs relative to our program spending, we also believe that real impact requires real investment.  We will continue to focus on responsibly using donations to increase and improve our support services and ensures a legislative and health care framework that removes barriers and reduces the suffering of people across Canada, thus creating the positive impact our donors expect.

To learn about the positive change our donors create, you can visit our Your Impact page to view highlights, facts and figure, annual reports and audited financial statements. You can also sign up to get regular updates on the latest accomplishments and the priorities we’re working on.  If you have questions, please contact us at info@dyingwithdignity.ca.

Comments added August 21, 2023

 

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