The Citizens' Foundation Canada is a 5-star rated charity and a top 10 impact charity. It has High demonstrated impact, best practices in financial transparency, and low overhead spending.

Founded in Canada in 2009, The Citizens' Foundation Canada (TCF Canada) is the Canadian arm of The Citizens' Foundation (TCF) founded in 1995. The Citizens' Foundation is a Pakistani charity that educates children, particularly those from low-income families. The Citizens' Foundation provides high-quality education in rural and slum areas of Pakistan. According to the charity, Pakistan ranks second globally in the number of children out of school. Girls from low-income families have the lowest rate of education. TCF hires only female teachers, making parents feel safe sending girls to school. The Citizens' Foundation is the second largest employer of women in Pakistan.  

A Charity Intelligence 2022 Top 10 Impact Charity 

TCF is funded primarily by donations. Parents must pay affordable fees that are no more than 5%-7% of the family's income. TCF has three primary programs that support the foundation's mission: schools, adult education, and teacher training. The charity does not disclose how much it spent on each program.

As of F2021, The Citizens' Foundation operates 1,833 primary and secondary schools. TCF Canada supports 123 of these schools. 90% of schools are located in the Sindh and Punjab provinces. A standard, single-unit primary school has six classrooms, each with a capacity of 30 students. A secondary school has five classrooms, which can each hold 36 students. All schools are equipped with fully furnished classrooms, a library, computer labs, science labs, and an art room. In F2021, TCF reports that it supported 20,111 students. 

Since 2005, TCF's adult literacy program has provided illiterate adults with basic education classes. During the program, adults learn basic math and Urdu reading and writing. Over the past 16 years, the charity has run 7,900 classes. In F2021, 1,805 adults participated in the Aagahi Literacy Program. 

The Citizens' Foundation provides ongoing training to teachers and school staff. New teachers complete Pre-Service Training (PRESET), including a self-study pack and on-the-job training. Similarly, established teachers receive annual pedagogical training. In F2021, TCF trained more than 600 teachers in Punjab, and the charity provided 99 teachers with high-quality lesson plans.

The Citizens' Foundation, Canada received $4.0m in donations and special event revenue in F2021. Administrative costs are 4% of revenues, and fundraising costs are 1% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 5%. For every dollar donated, 95 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci's reasonable range for overhead spending. Funding reserves of $1.3m can cover just over five months of annual program costs, indicating a need for funding. 

The F2021 T3010 data was not available at the time of this update.

This is an update that has been sent to The Citizens' Foundation, Canada for review. Comments and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on August 9, 2022 by Ann Lei.