Founded in 1914, Scouts Canada aims to prepare kids for success through adventures and new experiences. Worldwide, the Scouting program has approximately 40 million members in 167 countries. Scouts Canada supports the programming, safety, and administrative needs of smaller local Scout groups. In Canada, more than 50,000 young people between the ages of 5 and 26 participate in Scouting. Scouts Canada does not provide a breakdown of spending on its programs.

Scouting participants are divided into five groups: Beaver Scouts (ages 5-7), Cub Scouts (ages 8-10), Scouts (ages 11-14), Venturer Scouts (ages 15-17), and Rover Scouts (ages 18-26). Groups participate in challenging outdoor activities, including hiking, camping, mountain biking, white-water rafting, and mountain climbing. Scouts also challenge themselves with community service and hands-on learning. In F2020, there were 53,259 scouts, of which 18,085 were beavers, 18,356 were cubs, 12,470 were scouts, 3,309 were venturers, and 1,039 were rovers.

Scouts Canada reports that donations support initiatives, such as Scouts for Sustainability and STEM Programming. Through these initiatives, Scouts learn to take responsibility in caring for the environment; pursue interests in science, technology, engineering, and math; do good deeds in their community; and build leadership and communication skills. The Scouts for Sustainability program supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) movement. The SDGs outline a global plan to improve the world through a more generous society, fairer communities, and a healthy planet. In F2020, Canadian Scouts contributed to 9,244 service projects and impacted 2,000 communities.

Recent News: On June 24, 2021, CBC News reported that Scouts Canada employee, John Rietveld, is facing charges of historical child sex crimes. Scouts Canada confirmed that John Rietveld started working at the charity in 1975 and served as the president and executive director of Scouts Canada Foundation from 2002 to 2011. Kayleigh Kanoza of Scouts Canada stated that the charity was not aware of concerns related to Rietveld until 2018 when Ottawa Police Service revealed he was under investigation.

In F2020, Scouts Canada had total donations of $5.0m. The charity also received $10.5m in membership fees from clients, representing 49% of total revenues. Administrative costs are 17% of revenues (less investment income), and fundraising costs are 70% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 87%. For every dollar donated, 13 cents go to the cause, which is outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Scouts Canada has $19.4m in funding reserves, including $4.2m of externally endowed funds from the World Scout Foundation. Excluding endowed funds, Scouts Canada could cover 124% or almost 15 months of annual program costs with reserves.

This charity report has been sent to Scouts Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 16, 2021 by Sydney Olexa.