Special Olympics British Columbia Society

About Special Olympics British Columbia Society:

Founded in 1980, Special Olympics BC (SOBC) is part of the Special Olympics movement in the province of British Columbia and is affiliated with Special Olympics Canada and Special Olympics International. SOBC’s vision is that sport will open hearts and minds towards people with intellectual disabilities and create inclusive communities across British Columbia. SOBC reports that an estimated 69,000 Canadians have intellectual disabilities (approximately 1.5 per cent of population) and approximately one to three per cent of the global population has an intellectual disability – as many as 200 million people. Special Olympics BC provides high-quality year-round sport programs and competitions that help people with intellectual disabilities celebrate personal achievement and gain confidence, skills, and friendships. There are now more than 4,800 Special Olympics athletes participating in year-round programs in 55 communities around BC.  

SOBC offers training for 18 sports including summer sports such as basketball and golf, as well as winter sports such as cross-country skiing and curling, offered to children aged eight and up. The charity also runs youth programs for children from ages two to 18, a year-round fitness program, and athlete health initiatives. SOBC’s Health Promotion program has performed 62,469 examinations in 69 participating countries since its inception.  

Financial Review:

Special Olympics British Columbia is a medium-sized charity, with donations and special events fundraising of $3.8m in F2018. Its administrative and fundraising costs are 12% of revenues. For every dollar donated, 88 cents go to the cause, which is within Ci's reasonable range for overhead spending.   

SOBC has $5m in funding reserves, of which $1.7m is donor-endowed. This means that SOBC cover annual program costs for just over 1 year, excluding donor-endowed funds.    

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Special Olympics of British Columbia for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated June 28, 2019 by Parker Thomlinson.