Blog 1 - Save the Children Canada - Ryann Churla

Save the Children Canada (SCC), is a registered charity and a member of Save the Children International, a network of charities that provide support for 120 countries globally. According to Charity Intelligence Canada, SCC is an international aid non-profit organization founded in 1921 with the mission to improve the lives of children throughout these 120 countries that the organization currently serves. SCC offers aid and programs on an international scale to countries such as Syria and Nepal, as well as provides support and services to domestic groups such as Alberta’s Siksika Nation.

SCC provides a breakdown of their funding sources, as well as how they allocate funds, within its  2016 Annual Report. In the annual report, SCC identifies that the majority of funding comes from grants, making up 67.3 per cent of funds or $42,190,215.26 of their total revenue of $62,664,057.82 for the 2016 fiscal year. Donations also make up a significant amount of that revenue, with SCC reporting to have received $20,232,900.57 or 32.3 per cent of total funds in the form of goodwill. The organization also identifies bequests, interest and other income, as well as unrealized capital G/L, as a part of their total funding. However, according to the annual report these additional resources when combined account for less than one per cent of all funds earned. The annual report also offers information on how the organization distributes its funds across its services and expenses. It is stated that 91.8 per cent of funds, or $53,910,938, is given to the organization’s programming, while 4.1 per cent is given to both fundraising and administration activities, or $2,391,693 and $2,405,821 respectively. In another section of the 2016 report, SCC further details its operational costs; some highlights include the cost of marketing and general administration, which each had a fee of $2,873,856 and $2,335,942 respectively.

The CRA, details similar information from the same reporting period as SCC’s annual report with some slight differences. The CRA states that the organization spends 87 per cent or $53,342,568 of its total expenses on its charitable programs. The cost of management and administration increases to five per cent of the total expenses claimed, or $3,216,018, and fundraising overhead rises to $4,596,816 or eight per cent of expenses. Total revenue is represented as $62,611,833 and total expenses amount to $61,155,402.

To gain more perspective on the financial overhead information and transparency of SCC, it is important to refer to the organization’s rating on Charity Intelligence Canada. According to Charity Intelligence Canada, SCC has an overall good rating in terms of donor accountability and financial transparency. The website has awarded the organization an A- grade, a four-star rating as well as a rating of three for financial transparency.

While there is a slight discrepancy between what is reported in the organization’s annual report and what is reported on the CRA, I believe that SCC practices an acceptable level of overhead. This is my believe because regardless of what data source is being assessed, the organization’s charitable programs and resources are witnessing more than a majority of its total expenditures, especially in comparison to what is spent on administrative costs. SCC is also demonstrating a level of transparency regarding the difference in the reported cost for their 2016 fiscal year, as they also directly link to the CRA’s information when they reference their annual report’s findings on their website. I think it was important that the organization also referenced the cost of marketing in its annual report, as this is something that some may overlook when analyzing charitable overhead standards. Based on the success of the organization as well as my perspective as a public relations practitioner, this was an expense I found easy to justify and understand on behalf of the organization.

Another method to measure the success and effectiveness of the charity would be to include specific and tangible examples of how the collected proceeds are utilized. For example, they would say something to the effect of “In 2018, SCC provided clean drinking water to 1.2 million children in Africa” or “In 2016, SCC taught 800,000 girls to read a sixth-grade reading comprehension level”. I think that this would not only improve the perception and understanding of how the organization allocates its funds, but will act as an engaging tactic to inspire new and existing donors.