Canadian Wildlife Federation

About Canadian Wildlife Federation:

Founded in 1962, the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) works to conserve Canadian wildlife and land for Canadians to enjoy in the future. The charity’s programs are designed around three main strategies: connecting Canadians to nature, maintaining healthy wildlife populations, and conserving and restoring the environment.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation runs nine education programs that connect Canadians with the environment. The WILD Migrations map – one of CWF’s education programs – provides a visual map of all species at risk of endangerment in Canada. CWF’s annual report states that the WILD Migrations program educated 12,842 students on at-risk species and their migratory patterns in 2014-2015.

In 2014, CWF’s advocacy program successfully moved three bat species onto the Species at Risk Act (SARA), increasing the level of protection on the species. The charity’s Help the Bats Campaign had been fighting for bat protection throughout 2013.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation also runs conservation programs that use science to restore Canadian habitats and wildlife. The charity divides its conservation programming into three areas of focus: wildlife & habitat, freshwater & marine, and endangered species. This past year the CWF Endangered Species program located three species populations on the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA). Locating these populations makes it easier to provide proper protection. CWF’s annual report discussed its Love Your Lake program – a stewardship program for freshwater conservation. The charity collaborated with Watersheds Canada to develop Love Your Lake back in 2013. It is now a successful shoreline stewardship program active across Ontario. CWF assessed over 5100 shorelines in 2014-2015 and provided resources to help property owners improve the health of their lands after assessment.

Financial Review:

The Canadian Wildlife Federation is a big-cap charity with annual donations totaling $12.5m in F2015. Administrative costs are 8% of revenues and fundraising costs are 32% of donations: the charity allocates $0.39 of every donated Canadian dollar to overhead. This falls just within Ci’s reasonable range. It is important to note that the charity capitalizes a portion of its fundraising expenses. The Canadian Wildlife Federation holds $9.1m in funding reserves, of which 2% are donor endowed. With funding reserves covering only 72% of annual program costs, there is a need for donations.

This charity report is an update that is being reviewed by the Canadian Wildlife Federation. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 7, 2016 by Katie Khodawandi.