National Service Dogs

1286 Cedar Creek Road
Cambridge, ON N1R 5S5
Executive Director: Danielle Forbes
Board President: Alison Archambault

Charitable Reg. #:89802 9228 RR0001

STAR RATING

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

[Charity Rating: 2/5]

✔+

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.

Low

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.

73%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 73 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About National Service Dogs:

National Service Dogs is a 2-star rated, financially transparent charity with Low demonstrated impact. The charity has an above average results reporting grade and its overhead spending is within Ci’s reasonable range. National Service Dogs has $727k in reserve funds, which can cover 11 months of program costs.

Founded in 1998, National Service Dogs (NSD) provides fully-trained service and companion dogs primarily to individuals with disabilities. NSD works out of Cambridge, Ontario and aims to help people achieve their full potential through the support of service dogs. The charity trains and pairs dogs with people in need through four programs: Certified Service Dogs for Autism, Certified Service Dogs for PTSD, Canine Assisted Intervention, and Companion Dogs. All dogs are provided to eligible clients at no cost.

In F2022, NSD served 150 people, and vetted/trained 81 dogs. The charity also had 41 new puppies enter its training program. National Service Dogs benefited from 314 volunteers contributing 322,229 hours of work.

The charity does not disclose how much it spends on each of its programs.

Certified Service Dogs for Autism are typically Labradors and Golden Retrievers trained specifically for children living with Autism. These dogs work to improve the quality of life of autistic children and their caretakers by increasing their safety and helping to suppress behavioural outbursts.

Certified Service Dogs for PTSD are provided to Canadian veterans and first responders living with long-term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta. The charity reports that one in four Canadian veteran suffer from PTSD. These service dogs help ground their owners in reality and encourage physical activity.

Canine Assisted Intervention dogs work with professional therapy teams that address health and wellness in areas such as trauma, or addiction.

Companion Dogs are for children who are under the age of 18 and living with various disabilities. National Service Dogs reports that in 2017, 6.3 million Canadians aged 15 or older had been diagnosed with a disability, making it hard for them to find independence, security and social acceptance. Companion dogs are not certified for public access and receive no special training other than in basic obedience. They provide companionship, decrease stress, and encourage their owner to exercise.

NSD reports that it places over 83% of its dogs with clients, while the dogs determined to be unfit for its programs become pets available for purchase under the charity's Very Important Pet service.

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Results and Impact

In F2022, National Service Dogs paired 19 dogs with clients. Of these, eight were Certified Service Dogs, eight were Companion Dogs, and three were Canine Assisted Intervention Dogs.

National Service Dogs runs an annual client survey to get feedback from the people it serves.  In F2022, it reports that its overall client satisfaction rate was 90%. The client support satisfaction rate was 87% and the dog support satisfaction rate was 87%.

While Charity Intelligence highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of National Service Dogs' results and impact.

Charity Intelligence has rated National Service Dogs as Low impact based on demonstrated social impact per dollar spent.

Impact Rating: Low

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Finances

National Service Dogs is a financially transparent charity. Its audited financial statements are publicly available on its website.

National Service Dogs received donations and special events revenues of $1.3m in F2022. The charity received $41k in donated goods in kind and $16k in fees from clients. Administrative costs are 14% of total revenues and fundraising costs are 13% of donations. Per dollar donated to the charity, 73 cents are available for programs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

National Service Dogs’ reserve funds of $727k can cover 11 months of annual program costs.

National Service Dogs paid external fundraisers $23k in F2022 to raise $258k for a cost of 9 cents per dollar raised.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to National Service Dogs for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 21, 2023 by Victoria Allder.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending December
202220212020
Administrative costs as % of revenues 14.0%13.4%12.6%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 13.3%9.7%11.7%
Total overhead spending 27.2%23.1%24.4%
Program cost coverage (%) 92.8%101.3%55.3%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $s
202220212020
Donations 1,260,0091,014,819810,768
Goods in kind 41,14544,57192,998
Government funding 050,61198,377
Fees for service 16,04229,13215,523
Special events 45,58867,10731,305
Total revenues 1,362,7841,206,2401,048,971
Program costs 783,097596,749546,026
Donated goods exp 41,14544,57192,998
Administrative costs 190,290161,347132,568
Fundraising costs 173,147104,89398,759
Other costs 03,8044,313
Total spending 1,187,679911,364874,664
Cash flow from operations 175,105294,876174,307
Capital spending 16,21414,16431,730
Funding reserves 727,068604,405301,958

Note: Ci adjusted for deferred donations, affecting total revenues by $40k in F2022, ($79k) in F2021 and $103k in F2020. Ci used the charity's T3010 filing with the CRA to report its administrative and fundraising cost breakdown. 

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 11

Avg. compensation: $55,241

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
0
$160k - $200k
0
$120k - $160k
0
$80k - $120k
1
$40k - $80k
6
< $40k
3

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2022

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

No comments have been added by the charity.

Charity Contact

Website: www.nsd.on.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 519-623-4188

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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001