Founded in 2006, Wellspring Calgary aims to address the emotional, social, and restorative needs of people living with cancer and their caregivers. The charity offers over 40 programs to meet these needs. Programs are free, available without referral, and offered at two locations in Calgary: Carma House NW and Fountain Court SE.

Wellspring Calgary has four primary ‘wellness’ pillars for its programs: Core & Educational, Expressive Arts, Movement & Meditation, and Caregiver & Self-care. Besides these pillars, the charity also has young adult programs, one-on-one programs, energy session programs, bereavement programs, financial help programs, speaker series, and program resources. Anyone over 18 years old with cancer can become a Wellspring member for free access to all programs, resources, and services. In 2017, Wellspring Calgary delivered 31,848 program hours for its 4,898 members. 

In 2015, Wellspring Calgary launched a $12.9m fundraising campaign: $6.2m to build the Randy O’Dell House (a new program location), $5.7m for member programs, and $1.0m to grow its endowment. Located in Seton, the Randy O’Dell House will serve people in southern Alberta to address the charity’s increasing members. As of September 2018, Wellspring Calgary has raised $9.6 million, 74% of its fundraising goal, and aims to open the Randy O’Dell House in September 2019.

Results and Impact: Wellspring Calgary conducts annual surveys on its members. In F2017, 98% of respondents received the support they needed, 99% felt better prepared to manage going forward, and 100% gained knowledge and skills needed to address their needs. The total number of respondents was not stated in the charity’s annual report.

Wellspring Calgary is a medium-sized charity with $1.5m in donations and special events revenues in 2017. Its administrative costs are 11% of revenues. Fundraising costs are 34% of donations, up significantly from 2016 due to donations dropping after a one-time $4m donation for its campaign in 2016. For each dollar donated, 54 cents go to the cause, falling outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. 

The charity has funding reserves of $13.2m, which cover 8.9 years of program costs. Although the coverage ratio does not show a need for funding, the funding reserve makes sense given the $12.9m target to fund the Randy O’Dell House. 

This report is Ci’s first charity report on Wellspring Calgary and has been sent to the charity. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated by Katie Khodawandi on October 31, 2018.