Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS)
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
A+
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
n/r
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.
79%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 79 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS):
Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society is a 5-star charity. It has an A+ results reporting grade, which is above average. The charity's reserve funds could cover its annual program costs for just over one year and seven months, within Ci's reasonable range. For every dollar donated, 79 cents are available to go to the cause, also within Ci's reasonable range.
A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top 100 Rated Charity.
Founded in 2006, Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) provides shelter, veterinary care, spay and neuter services, and pet food to support homeless and at-risk animals across Alberta. The charity reports that animals most often enter shelters due to changes in owner circumstances, behaviour issues, high veterinary costs, unregulated breeding, full shelters, and a lack of pet-friendly housing. In 2025, AARCS spent $3.6m on its programs. It did not provide a spending breakdown of its programs.
Sheltering and Adoption programs provide care and housing for homeless animals. In 2025, AARCS recorded an intake of 2,871 cats, 1,582 dogs, and 258 critters, and a total of 3,301 adoptions, including 2,110 cats, 988 dogs, and 203 critters. The charity also reported 571 cat adoptions through partner pet stores (Pet Valu, PetSmart, and Dexter’s).
Veterinary Care programs provide medical treatment and support for animals in need. In 2025, AARCS performed 15,411 exams, 7,873 vaccinations, 2,802 spay/neuter surgeries, 417 dental surgeries, and 583 other surgeries.
Assistance programs provide support to help keep pets in their homes and reduce animal surrender through resources such as pet food support, supplies, and community services. In 2025, Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society provided food for more than 3,000 animals. Through the Spay/Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP), 183 cats and 188 dogs were spayed or neutered. In addition, 359 cats were trapped, sterilized, vaccinated, and returned through its Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. Staff and volunteers also worked in two rural communities, providing vaccines and wellness checks for over 400 dogs.
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Results and Impact
In 2025, AARCS facilitated 3,301 adoptions, including 2,110 cats, 988 dogs, and 203 critters. It performed 2,802 spay/neuter surgeries through its veterinary hospital, 371 through SNAP, and 359 through TNR. Additionally, the charity’s Pet Food Assistance program provided food for over 3,000 animals.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society’s results and impact.
This charity is not yet rated on impact. This shows as n/r and does not affect the star rating.
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Finances
Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society’s audited financial statements use activity-based costing, which is a best practice.
AARCS received $5.0m in donations and special events revenue in 2025, representing 83% of total revenue. The charity also received $842k in adoption and service fees.
In 2025, AARCS spent $3.6m on its programs (60% of total revenue) and recorded a surplus of $1.3m (21% of total revenue).
Fundraising costs were $444k, which was 9% of donations, and administrative costs were $704k, which was 12% of revenue (excluding investment income). Total overhead was 21%, meaning that for every dollar received, 79 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
AARCS has $5.7m in reserve funds (cash and investments) which could cover its annual program costs for just over one year and seven months. This is also within Ci’s reasonable range.
This charity report is an update that has been sent to Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society for review.
Updated on June 30, 2026 by Ava Anderson.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending December
|
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 11.8% | 14.5% | 9.9% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 8.9% | 10.2% | 10.5% |
| Total overhead spending | 20.8% | 24.7% | 20.4% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 158.8% | 119.1% | 95.0% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 4,392 | 3,839 | 3,859 |
| Goods in kind | 15 | 56 | 39 |
| Government funding | 7 | 7 | 52 |
| Fees for service | 842 | 974 | 1,088 |
| Business activities (net) | 98 | 96 | 75 |
| Special events | 593 | 451 | 893 |
| Investment income | 92 | 79 | 69 |
| Total revenues | 6,039 | 5,503 | 6,075 |
| Program costs | 3,602 | 3,636 | 3,783 |
| Donated goods exp | 15 | 56 | 39 |
| Administrative costs | 704 | 788 | 595 |
| Fundraising costs | 444 | 439 | 497 |
| Total spending | 4,766 | 4,918 | 4,914 |
| Cash flow from operations | 1,273 | 585 | 1,161 |
| Capital spending | 2 | 87 | 154 |
| Funding reserves | 5,719 | 4,329 | 3,594 |
Note: 1. Deferred Revenue: Ci adjusted for deferred revenue within donations, which affected revenue by $192k in 2025, $118k in 2024, and ($333k) in 2023. 2. Merchandise Expense: Ci reported merchandise revenue net of expenses. This affected revenue and expenses by ($101k) in 2025, ($144k) in 2024, and ($162k) in 2023. 3. Donated Goods: Ci included donated goods received and treated it as a flow through. The amounts were removed from donations on the revenue side and program costs on the expense side.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
0 |
$120k - $160k |
1 |
$80k - $120k |
4 |
$40k - $80k |
5 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2025
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Comment added on August 27, 2025:
The Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) operates an animal shelter and onsite veterinary hospital based in Calgary, offers services throughout the province and collaborates with organizations across the prairies. With over 2,000 volunteers province-wide, the organization is assisting thousands of animals each year through multiple programs aimed at helping both people and pets. This includes helping 3,400 animals into new adoptive homes in 2024 and assisting another 5,400 pets stay in their already loving homes through assistance programs.
Programs include rescue and animal adoption, Spay/Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP), Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), a pet food bank, Compassionate Care (veterinary care) and Animal Disaster Response. AARCS’ dedicated team cares for an average of 500 animals at any given time and relies on a network of volunteers and foster families to assist in caring for the animals.
AARCS is proud to be an animal welfare leader in Alberta with values encompassing kindness for both people and animals, collaboration to serve our communities and a commitment to integrity and compassion. AARCS is a founding member of the Animal Welfare Coalition of Alberta and a voting member of Humane Canada. We embrace a duty of responsible resource stewardship and professionalism. Our dedication to continuous learning and contributing to knowledge-building within the sector exemplifies our goal to remain a leader in animal welfare so that we can improve the lives of animals and build a more empathetic society.
As our leased facility in Calgary ages, we are looking to the future and finding a new, more permanent and purpose-built home for AARCS, while prioritizing strategies that allow us to remain effective in our existing facility. Continuous improvements to reduce length of stay and streamline the journey for each animal from shelter to a forever home, in addition to growing programs that allow us to help animals without overnight sheltering are at the core of our strategic objectives for 2025 and beyond.
Please visit aarcs.ca to learn more, sign up for our newsletter or find us on social media to find out how together, we can achieve a Compassionate World For All Animals.
Learn More:
AARCS 2024 Annual Report
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 403-250-7377