Confederation Centre of the Arts is a 2-star rated charity with a C in results reporting. The charity has high fundraising costs leading to overhead spending outside of Charity Intelligence's reasonable range. Before you give, read Charity Intelligence's report.

Founded in 1964, the Confederation Centre of the Arts (Confederation Centre), formerly Canada's National Memorial to the Fathers of Confederation, is an arts charity based in Charlottetown, PEI. The charity states that Confederation Centre of the Arts is a tribute to the famous men who founded Confederation. The charity operates performing arts, visual arts, and arts education programs.

Confederation Centre of the Arts has four primary areas of spending: its Art Gallery, Theatre, Arts Education program, and Heritage program. The charity does not provide a breakdown of spending.

Confederation Centre Art Gallery presents 20 exhibitions of Canadian art annually. The gallery has four main exhibition halls on two levels. Its permanent collection has grown to over 17,000 objects, works of art, artifacts, and documents. The charity reports that in F2022, there were 14,020 visits to the art gallery.

Through the charity's Theatre program, it runs productions in two indoor theatres and one outdoor amphitheatre. The Charlottetown Festival is held each summer at Confederation Centre. Since its inception, the charity has launched more than 80 original productions. The charity reports that in F2022, 15,125 patrons attended the Charlottetown Festival.

Confederation Centre's Arts and Education program provides in-person and virtual dance, music, and art classes. The charity also runs camps and school programs for students. The charity reports that in F2022, there were 186 students in dance and 150 participants in its visual arts camps.

The charity's Heritage program accounts for the remaining portion of program spending. The charity has a monument of the original Confederation Chamber, a memorial to the 1864 Charlottetown Conference. Since 2006, the Confederation Centre has presented the Symons Medal to 17 high-profile Canadians. In F2022, the charity distributed 665 tickets for the Symons Medal Lecture.

In the following financial analysis, Ci consolidated Confederation Centre of the Arts with Confederation Centre of the Arts Foundation Inc.

Confederation Centre of the Arts received $578k in donations in F2021 (down from $1.2m in F2020). Administrative costs were 8% of revenues and fundraising costs were 31% of donations in F2021. For every dollar donated to the charity, 61 cents go to the cause. This falls outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

At the time of this update, the charity has not posted the Foundation's audited financials for F2021 or F2020.

Confederation Centre of the Arts has funding reserves of $15.5m. The charity could cover 2.7 years of annual program costs with these reserves.

This report is an update that has been sent to Confederation Centre of the Arts for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on August 25, 2022 by Ann Lei.