Lymphoma Canada

About Lymphoma Canada:

Lymphoma Canada (LC) formed in 1998 when Lymphoma Research Foundation of Canada merged with Canadian Lymphoma Foundation. Lymphoma Canada works to improve the lives of people affected by lymphoma. Lymphoma refers to over 60 different types of cancers of the lymphatic system that affect over 100,000 Canadians. Doctors classify lymphoma into two general categories: Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin (NHL). Hodgkin lymphoma is rare, while NHL is the fifth most common cancer diagnosed in Canada. Lymphoma Canada runs three major programs: patient support, education and research.

Education is Lymphoma Canada’s largest program with direct costs of $276k in F2015. LC runs Educational Forums to keep patients and caregivers up to date on new treatment options, how to manage symptoms and challenges that come with survivorship. LC hosted 16 Educational Forums across Ontario and Quebec in F2014. The charity also offers online webinars for patients who cannot attend Educational Forums in person. LC hosted two webinars in F2014. Lymphoma Canada launched Life Beyond Lymphoma in November 2014, which is an online portal where patients and caregivers can learn about what comes after beating lymphoma. LC reports that the portal has 1200 users per month, of which 25% are returning visitors. To educate doctors about advances in lymphoma treatments, Lymphoma Canada’s Scientific Advisory Board created the first National Guidelines for Follicular Lymphoma in Canada report in F2014.

Lymphoma Canada’s Support program accounted for $110k of program costs in F2015. Peer-to-Peer Mentoring is a service offered through this program that matches lymphoma patients and caregivers to people who previously went through similar experiences. Lymphoma Canada also runs patient Support Groups in seven cities in Ontario and two cities in Quebec. For people who cannot attend in-person sessions, LC has an online Support Group option.

Research is Lymphoma Canada’s third major program. Every year, LC awards its Lymphoma Canada Research Fellowship (LCRF) to one researcher for a period of two years. The 2015 LCRF recipient was Dr. Kerry Savage, a medical oncologist and researcher at the British Columbia Cancer Agency. Dr. Savage is to receive $53k in F2016 and $23k in F2017 from LC.

Financial Review:

Note: Lymphoma Canada changed its expense reporting in F2015, separating expenses into five major pools: Research, Patient Support, Education, Fundraising and Operations. F2015 and F2014 expense figures come from this new reporting style, while F2013 figures do not. There may be significant differences in F2013 figures due to this change.

Lymphoma Canada is a medium-sized charity with donations of $1.0m in F2015. Administrative costs are 10% of revenues and fundraising costs are 33% of donations. $0.43 of every donated dollar goes toward overhead costs, which falls above Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. However, F2014 overhead spending of $0.25 on the donated dollar does fall within Ci’s reasonable range.

Lymphoma Canada’s funding reserves of $705k can cover only 79% of annual program and granting costs, indicating a funding need.

This charity report is an update that is currently being reviewed by Lymphoma Canada. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on August 24, 2016 by Katie Khodawandi.