Canadian Mental Health Association is a 4-star charity with an average results reporting grade. The charity is financially transparent and has overhead costs outside Ci’s reasonable range. 

Founded in 1918, Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is one of Canada's oldest voluntary mental health organizations. The charity provides services and resources needed to maintain mental health, integrate into the community, and support recovery from mental illness. The charity emphasizes that while one in five people in Canada experience mental illness, five in five people have mental health that needs to be taken care of. CMHA has 11 divisions in all provinces and one territory, and 67 community branches. The following report is on the national branch located in Toronto. The charity does not provide a breakdown of its spending per program.  

CMHA reported that it is the go-to source for mental health information, with 2.6 million website users in F2022. It had over 217,000 social media followers, a 23% increase from F2021. In F2022, CMHA produced over 34,000 news stories across Canada and provided access to IMD, an extensive digital resource library, to 8 million patients. CMHA also ran its 71st annual Mental Health Week in F2022 to emphasize the importance of empathy in our lives. This social media campaign enabled people to share stories, express empathy and receive support.

Canadian Mental Health Association also advocates for policy and research to improve mental health in Canada. In F2022, the charity had 52 engagements with federal decision makers, 9 policy statements, and 20 new strategic policy and advocacy partnerships. During the same year, it ran a campaign that elevated the national conversation on mental health. The campaign reached almost 3 million people, with 657,042 engagements. In F2022, it published research on the impact of covid-19 on Canadians’ mental health.

CMHA runs community support and learning programs to address and prevent mental illnesses. Not Myself Today helps employers build awareness and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health in the workplace. In F2022, 374 companies with 332,889 employees participated in the initiative. CMHA’s Recovery Colleges program operates 27 centres across Canada where adults can go to learn about mental health and well-being. Recovery Colleges provide a learning space where anyone can access free courses, webinars, and workshops to learn and connect with others in their community. In 2022, the program supported 4,000 students. The Peer Support program allows a trained peer supporter to listen and emotionally support someone experiencing mental health issues. 53 peer supporters were certified in F2022. CMHA also offers BounceBack, a guided self-help program to support managing moderate depression and anxiety.  

In F2022, CMHA received donations and special event revenues of $5.0m. The charity also received $1.9m in fees for service from its Workplace Mental Health program, representing 26% of total revenues. Administrative costs are 31% of revenues (less investment income), and fundraising costs are 10% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 41%. For every dollar donated, 59 cents go to the cause. This is outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.  

CMHA has $5.4m in reserve funds. The charity could cover 187% or over one year and 10 months of its annual program costs with its reserves.  

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Canadian Mental Health Association for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.  

Updated on June 20, 2023 by Krystie Nguyen.