Canadian Council of the Blind
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
D+
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.
37%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 37 cents are available for programs.
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Programs
About Canadian Council of the Blind:
Founded in 1944 by blind Canadian war veterans and schools of the blind, Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) works to improve the lives of people who are blind, deaf-blind, or have poor vision. The charity reports that 50,000 Canadians lose their vision each year and 75% of vision loss is treatable or preventable, and vision loss costs Canadians $15.8 billion per year. CCB’s national office in Ottawa works with 80 local chapters in advocacy, providing bursaries, peer support, finding employment for members, connecting blind people with new technologies including computer training, and encouraging sport participation.
Canadian Council of the Blind runs a Mobile Eye Clinics program (MEC) which performs eye exams at schools, youth centres, and seniors’ homes. CCB reports that untreated vision problems can negatively impact kids’ learning and puts seniors at a greater risk of falling.
CCB’s Get Together With Technology (GTT) program is a community-based program that provides technology training by, and for, people who are visually impaired. The program offers one-on-one support (face-to-face, online and by phone), monthly user group meetings, workshops, teleconferences and online information sharing through blog posts and Social Media channels.
CCB’s Health and Fitness program aims to engage, educate and empower people who are blind or visually impaired to live an active and healthy lifestyle. Information and content is delivered through podcasts, blog posts, YouTube videos, email group lists, Twitter, Facebook and one-on-one telephone coaching.
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Results and Impact
Canadian Council of the Blind advocates for accessibility so that visually impaired individuals can live a more independent life. Over the last few years, CCB has attended consultations, reached out to Canadian MPs, and provided written submissions and oral presentations to committees of the government for a barrier-free and accessible Canada. In 2018, the Federal Government tabled Bill C-81, An act to ensure a barrier-free Canada, or the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), to make Canada more accessible and inclusive. This paves the way for committee review in both the House and Senate and eventual passage into law.
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Finances
Canadian Council of the Blind is a medium-sized charity with donations of $2.5m in F2017. Administrative costs are 12% of revenues and fundraising costs are 51% of donations. For every dollar donated, 37 cents go to the cause, which is outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. CCB has $558k in funding reserves which could cover six months of annual program costs.
CCB uses external fundraisers as part of its fundraising activities. In its F2017 T3010 CRA filing, the charity reported external fundraising costs of $1.3m. External fundraisers raised $2.1m on behalf of the charity, producing an external fundraising cost ratio of 61%.
This report is an update that has been sent to Canadian Council of the Blind for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.
Financial analysis updated on August 14, 2019 by Caroline McKenna.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending December
|
2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 12.3% | 11.8% | 13.9% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 51.2% | 55.3% | 50.3% |
| Total overhead spending | 63.4% | 67.2% | 64.2% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 53.9% | 54.2% | 65.6% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $s |
2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 2,521,728 | 2,552,340 | 2,247,466 |
| Government funding | 41,250 | 41,250 | 41,250 |
| Fees for service | 15,680 | 15,150 | 13,930 |
| Business activities (net) | 6,858 | 10,301 | 11,256 |
| Investment income | 3,079 | 3,181 | 4,362 |
| Total revenues | 2,588,595 | 2,622,222 | 2,318,264 |
| Program costs | 1,035,392 | 966,596 | 934,544 |
| Administrative costs | 316,715 | 309,979 | 321,594 |
| Fundraising costs | 1,290,004 | 1,412,025 | 1,129,871 |
| Total spending | 2,642,111 | 2,688,600 | 2,386,009 |
| Cash flow from operations | (53,516) | (66,378) | (67,745) |
| Capital spending | 60,273 | 8,411 | 14,931 |
| Funding reserves | 557,923 | 523,560 | 612,865 |
Note: Ci reported rental income gross of direct expenses in business activities. Ci did not recognize amortization of leasehold inducements, reducing revenues by $8k in F2017, $15k in F2016, and $15k in F2015. For expense figures, Ci used the charity’s external fundraising costs as reported in its T3010 CRA filings and backed the amounts out of programs and projects expenses, which are reported as program costs.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
0 |
$120k - $160k |
0 |
$80k - $120k |
1 |
$40k - $80k |
5 |
< $40k |
4 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2017
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Charity Contact
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