Bladder Cancer Canada (BCC) was founded in 2009 by two Canadians who were diagnosed with bladder cancer and wanted to improve the level of support available for those diagnosed with the disease. BCC reports that 9,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with bladder cancer annually. It is the fifth most common cancer in the country but is highly underfunded, ranking 21^st out of the top 25 cancers in terms of research funding (according the BCC). Due to a high recurrence rate of 60-70%, bladder cancer is also the most expensive cancer type to treat on a per-patient basis.

Bladder Cancer Canada’s mission is three-fold: support bladder cancer patients; increase awareness and education regarding the disease; and fund and promote bladder cancer research. These pillars align with the charity’s three program areas: patient support and education, awareness, and research.

Bladder Cancer Canada spent $743k on programs and research funding in F2018: 30% for awareness, 29% for research, and 12% for patient support and education (unallocated payroll accounts for the remaining 29%). To increase awareness, BCC works with patients, doctors, and the general public. It distributed 22,500 pieces of literature and 11,000 guidebooks to doctors in F2018, and reached 250 medical offices and hospitals. BCC also has 2,354 Twitter followers and estimates that when their followers are considered, its potential reach is 9.9 million.

For patient support and education, BCC posts online resources, hosts meetings and webinars, runs an online discussion forum, and also provides one-to-one support through its One2One program. BCC reports that it had 205,627 website visitors in F2018 (up 66% from F2017) and 1,800 forum members, reached 750 people at meetings or webinars, and helped 175 people though One2One.

Bladder Cancer Canada is a major sponsor of the Canadian Bladder Cancer Information System (CBCIS) initiative, which launched in F2014. CBCIS is a database that collects treatment outcome data on bladder cancer patients from 14 health centers across Canada. The goal is to use this data to improve treatment and clinical management practices for bladder cancer patients. Data from over 3,000 patients has been entered into the database as of F2018. BCC also co-funds various research projects in partnership with Canadian Urology Oncology group, Cancer Research Society, and Canadian Urological Association Scholarship Foundation.

BCC distributes an annual $50,000 standalone grant for basic bladder cancer research. The grant recipient team for F2018 was Dr. Black (University of British Columbia), Dr. Morin (Head of Proteomics at BC Cancer Genome Sciences Center), and their researchers. Their project studies potential mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in metastatic bladder cancer. To celebrate its tenth anniversary in F2019, BCC doubled its standalone grants (from one to two). F2019 recipients were: Dr. Kassouf at McGill University, who is studying combination therapy options for patients negatively affected by current treatment methods; and Dr. Kulkarni (University of Toronto) and Dr. Breau (University of Ottawa), who are studying a rare form of urothelial cancer that affects the lining of the kidney and ureter. 

Bladder Cancer Canada is a small charity that received $973k in donations in F2018. Administrative costs are 8% of revenue (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 7% of donations. Per dollar donated, 85 cents go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Funding reserves of $904k can cover annual program spending and grants (which reflect amounts contributed to the CBCIS project) at the F2018 level for 1.2 years.

This is a new charity report that has been sent to Bladder Cancer Canada for review. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.

Created on August 20, 2019 by Katie Khodawandi.