Founded in 2012, Blue Sea Foundation (Blue Sea) helps charities raise money. The charity's formal name is Blue Sea Philanthropy Inc. Blue Sea’s goal is to create a world where charities thrive. Blue Sea operates like an external fundraisers. It plans, operates and pays for fundraising events for partner charities. The partner charities are responsible for recruiting teams and participants to fundraise for the events. Blue Sea grants a percent of the funds raised at the event back to the partner charities. Payout rates range between 65% and 80% of funds and are determined by the scale of the event. If the event raises a lot of money, the charity receives a higher percentage. Blue Sea reports that on average, a partner charity receives 73%. This means it costs charities $0.26 cents to raise $1 using Blue Sea. This aligns with Blue Sea's $8.8m in donations allowing for $6.5m in grants in F2020. 

Although an uncommon charity model, Blue Sea Foundation aims to save charities money by providing large-scale fundraising events at lower costs. This allows small charities to participate in big, active events without needing the money or expertise to do so. Blue Sea’s fundraising costs are 22% of donations. When taking into account 1% administrative costs, it costs Blue Sea $0.23 cents to raise $1. This is a reasonable overhead cost. Other large-scale fundraiser events such as Princess Margaret’s Ride to Conquer Cancer, cost $0.42 for every $1 raised (based on F2020). 

In F2020, Blue Sea granted $6.5m to over 300 partner charities. Partner charities can choose from one of three fundraising events in locations across Canada: Ride for Refuge, Coldest Night of the Year, and The Grand Parade. Ride for Refuge is a biking and walking fundraiser that supports charities that help people who have been displaced or who are vulnerable and exploited. Coldest Night of the Year is a fundraiser dedicated to raising money for hungry and homeless people. Lastly, The Grand Parade is a fundraiser that supports ageing Canadians and their families.

In 2019, Blue Sea launched Essentials Fundraising, a six-month program for charities. The course teaches charities about fundraising fundamentals and best practices.

Blue Sea Foundation has donations of $8.7m in F2020. The charity received $347k in government funding, representing 4% of total revenues. Administrative costs are 1% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 22% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 23%. For every dollar donated, 77 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. 

Blue Sea has $823k in funding reserves. The charity could cover 13% or around one month of annual program costs with current reserves.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Blue Sea Foundation for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on August 6, 2021 by Brenleigh Jebb.