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WE co-founders Marc and Craig Kielburger will appear before the Finance Committee on July 28, 2020. New information about the complex network of WE entities is coming to light for the first time in the aftermath of the Canadian government’s announcement of a sole-source contract with WE Charity to administer the $912 million Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG).
Since WE Charity is one of Canada’s largest charities with a global profile, Charity Intelligence (Ci) is closely following these hearings to learn and share new information. On behalf of Canadian donors looking for answers, these are the Top 10 questions we would ask Marc and Craig Kielburger at the Finance Committee hearings. 
 
Charity Intelligence’s Top 10 Questions for Marc and Craig Kielburger:
1. The CSSG was contracted through WE Charity Foundation, a new separate charity, rather than WE Charity. The explanation was that this was done for legal liability purposes. Did you consider that this course of action might increase the risk for the Government of Canada and also Canadian taxpayers? 
Why ask this? Canada Revenue Agency filings show that WE Charity Foundation was registered in January 2018 to hold real estate for the benefit of WE Charity. The stated intention was to transfer millions of dollars in property to the Foundation, but as of June 2020, https://globalnews.ca/news/7203337/trudeau-we-charity-foundation-real-estate-holding-company/ Global News reports that the transfers had not yet been made, which means it had few assets.
 
2. Why do you not hire leading international auditors to prepare your financial statements?
Why ask this? WE Charity Canada, WE Charity US, and WE Charity UK raised $60 million in annual support in 2019. When giving to charities of WE’s size, complexity, and global scope, donors and corporate sponsors often have greater confidence in top-tier international auditing firms, which is why larger international entities typically use them (C https://www.charityintelligence.ca/research-and-news/ci-views/43-charity-news/661-we-charity-next-steps i’s article WE Charity’s Next Steps).
 
3. On May 19, 2015, ME to WE Foundation US and WE Charity US each paid US$500,000 to purchase website domain(s). What domains were bought and who owned them at the time they were purchased?   
Why ask this? According to 2019 documents, in 2015 ME to WE Foundation paid US$500,000 for the website domain we.org. On the same day, WE Charity (a separate US 501.c.3. charity), also paid US$500,000 for website domains. The recipient(s) of these funds/seller(s) of these domains were not disclosed.

 
 
4. Why do you need so many different entities and such a complex organizational structure in order to do your work?
Why ask this?  WE Charity Canada is only one piece of a highly complex network that includes charities and private businesses. The partial list includes WE Charity (US), WE Charity (UK), ME to WE Foundation (US), ME to WE Foundation of Canada, WE Charity Foundation, Wellbeing Foundation (Canada), Wellbeing Foundation America Inc. (US), We365 LP, We365 Holdings Inc., We365 GP Inc., and Imagine 1 Day International Organization. The Kielburgers also have a https://www.charityintelligence.ca/media/audit_pdfs/WE%202019%20audited%20financials.pdf controlling interest, through a holding company, in a private business ME to WE Social Enterprises Inc. More related and affiliated organizations may not yet be identified. 
 
5. How do you explain that ME to WE Foundation has not disclosed in its US regulatory filings the non-arms-length relationships of its three directors? 
Why ask this? The application for 501.c.3 charities asks: ‘Are any of your officers, directors, or trustees related to each other through family or business relationships?’ Over the past ten years, ME to WE Foundation filings have indicated ‘no’ to that question. According to https://www.wecharity.org/about-we-charity/our-team/ publicly available records, directors Dalal Al-Waheidi and Victor Li have long and extensive working relationships with each other. Director Wendy Yunli Qi is married to director Victor Li. 
 
 
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/82-we-charity Ci’s report on WE Charity
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/research-and-news/ci-views/45-r-d/663-charity-intelligence-finance-committee-statement Ci’s statement for Finance Committee
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/research-and-news/ci-views/43-charity-news/661-we-charity-next-steps Next steps for WE Charity
 
6. Why are you not directors, officers, or trustees of any of these charities, but rather take the title “co-founders”?
Why ask this? Directors have fiduciary responsibilities for governing and overseeing a charity. Furthermore, there is no regulation in either the US or Canada requiring auditors to report transactions involving co-founders. Any moneys received from the Kielburgers – and any moneys paid to the Kielburgers – can legally go unreported in an audit. This co-founder loophole makes it impossible to trace dollar flow between entities and individuals.
 
 
7. At WE Charity (US) there are two classes of members. Will you provide to the Committee a list of founding and voting members since inception, and does WE Charity (Canada) have a similar selection mechanism for Canadian directors?
Why ask this? At WE Charity (US), there are two classes of membership: founding and voting. Voting members are authorized to elect the board of directors, and also to elect additional members. Founding members’ approval is required to admit new members, but founders have no other voting rights.
 
8. Would you be willing to provide the Committee a complete list and organizational chart of all entities in all jurisdictions which have as directors, members, and/or officers any of the following people in the last five years: Marc Kielburger, Craig Kielburger, Kielburger family members, Dalal Al-Waheidi , Scott Baker, and Victor Li.
Why ask this? In the last few weeks, several new entities have come to light that are part of the WE network. To facilitate research and to understand the full picture, it would be helpful for donors to know all of the various entities.
 
9. What are the names of the external advisors who recommended Greg Rogers as Chair of WE Charity (Canada)?
Why ask this? Based on a statement from Greg Rogers (board Chair), external advisors and existing board members were engaged to facilitate the process and identify potential Chair candidates.
  
10. ME to WE Foundation US reports US$15.8 million in program spending since 2015, but reports no staff or wages paid. What specifically was this money spent on?
Why ask this? Since fiscal 2015, https://www.charitiesnys.com/RegistrySearch/show_details.jsp?id={0E2556CA-8D80-4530-95AA-C8115E55BE2F} ME to WE Foundation has spent US$15.8 million in ‘program services’. US$8.6 million was spent in fiscal year 2019 alone. ME to WE Foundation reports no staff or wages paid. In 2019, it gave $600,815 to other charities. 
 
 
It’s important for Canadian donors to have a full understanding of the entire network of charities they are funding. What goes on in these various international entities may influence giving decisions. The more donors understand about the entirety of the network, the better informed they will be, and the better able to give intelligently.
Ci researches Canadian charities to help donors be informed and give intelligently. Its website posts free reports on more than 750 Canadian charities, as well as in-depth primers on philanthropic sectors like Canada’s environment, cancer, and homelessness. Today over 360,000 Canadians use our website as a go-to source for information on Canadian charities reading over 1.3 million charity reports. Through rigorous and independent research, Ci aims to assist Canada’s dynamic charitable sector in being more transparent, accountable and focused on results.
 
Media enquiries: 
Kate Bahen, Ci Managing Director: kbahen@charityintelligence.ca
Greg Thomson, Ci Director of Research: gthomson@charityintelligence.ca
 
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 Legal disclaimer: The information in this report was prepared by Charity Intelligence Canada and its independent analysts from publicly available information. Charity Intelligence and its analysts have made endeavours to ensure that the data in this report is accurate and complete but accepts no liability.
The views and opinions expressed are to inform donors on matters of public interest. Views and opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, organization, individual, or anyone or anything. Any dispute arising from your use of this website or viewing the material hereon shall be governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario, without regard to any conflict of law provisions.

WE Charity’s donors and corporate partners are rightly shaken by all of the recent disclosures about what is going on at WE. As Craig and Marc Kielburger acknowledged in https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/media-statement-we-charity-853384204.html their apology, WE Charity’s integrity and purpose are being questioned. This has harmed the trust that Canadians have in WE and the charity knows that it needs to address it.
WE Charity’s co-founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger, have promised to more closely examine WE Charity’s internal structures and governance and https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/planning-for-the-future-of-we-832131931.html yesterday they announced a few first steps.
To build on these first steps We Charity may want to consider three additional items to shore up donor confidence. These are simple and can be done within the next few weeks.
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/research-and-news/ci-views/43-charity-news/662-ci-s-top-10-questions-for-marc-and-craig-kielburger Charity Intelligence’s Top 10 Questions for Marc and Craig Kielburger
 
1. Hire top-tier auditors
WE Charity is one of Canada’s largest charities, receiving more than $60 million each year in support. It has global operations, with both its international development work and also its WE Charity affiliates in the US and UK. It has a highly complex structure with multiple entities and related parties, such as Craig and Marc’s private business ME to WE. It has grown far beyond the teenage start-up from Thornhill, Ontario.
Yet, despite this expansion, it has retained the same auditors. With the greatest respect for Kestenberg Rabinowicz Partners LLP and to Swiantek, Kling & Pasieka LLP in Niagara Falls, New York, WE Charity should consider a switch to a top-tier auditor.
Yes, a top-tier auditing firm will cost more money. However, this would give WE Charity’s donors and corporate sponsors more confidence. WE Charity aspires to be transparent and accountable. A top-tier auditor would signal far greater credibility than other endorsements. This is money well spent.
WE Charity’s fiscal year end is August 31. Charity Intelligence suggests that WE Charity announce a new auditor as soon as possible.
 
2. For governance, WE Charity could add more independent directors
Charity Intelligence has concerns about WE Charity’s directors’ independence. Currently WE Charity Canada has four directors. One director served as Deputy of Operations at ME to WE, the private business of Marc and Craig Kielburger. The chair, a York University faculty member and former staff member with the Toronto Catholic District School Board, was Marc Kielburger’s high school teacher.
Given the complexity of WE Charity and its financial issues, the new Canadian directors should be fit for purpose. WE Charity is a distinct entity from ME to WE. This could be reinforced with additional independent directors who are arm’s length from ME to WE.
WE Charity has close connections with corporations and leaders. These people with experience should serve as directors. It would be appropriate for WE Charity’s board to have eight to twelve directors to bear the workload as it works through this crisis.
As well, WE Charity’s staff must be distinct. WE Charity, WE Charity US, and ME to WE should consider separate chief financial officers.
 
3. Close the co-founder loophole
To Craig and Marc, you have built a great Canadian success. You should be immensely proud of being co-founders of WE Charity and ME to WE. By all means keep ‘co-founder’ in your title. But you need to take on a position that has fiduciary responsibility and accountability.
There’s a co-founder loophole. Co-founder is not recognized as a position in governance. There are no requirements under Canadian accounting rules to note transactions to co-founders. Co-founders are not listed on government filings.
Co-founder is a warm and fuzzy title that carries no fiduciary responsibility and no disclosure requirements. As a co-founder, there is no accountability.
You believe in WE Charity. Please show this commitment by stepping up as directors of WE Charity and WE Charity US.
 
Additional reading: Charity Intelligence’s report on https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/82-we-charity WE Charity
 
Legal disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are to inform donors on matters of public interest. Views and opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, organization, individual, or anyone or anything. Any dispute arising from your use of this website or viewing the material hereon shall be governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario, without regard to any conflict of law provisions.

Recommendations to support anti-Black racism organizations.

 
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html Letter from a Birmingham jail is as profound today as in 1963 and well worth reading in full. You have the time. As a white moderate, The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter guides my recommendations to you. I ask myself how I can best change, learn, and support Black civil rights.
In matters of ‘law and order’, law trumps order.  Justice is the foundation of peace, and peace without justice is false. Let us rise from our ‘shallow understanding’ to learn deeply. Now, not later.
While media may focus on American protests, there is extensive anti-Black racism and police brutality in Canada. This is intolerable. I favour giving to Canadian civil rights groups.
In response to your requests on how to give to support anti-Black racism, here is my model of thinking, how I sort through your suggestions. I structure needs in a hierarchy. There are so many worthy causes yet our financial resources are finite. We must give intelligently. Dollars given to a nice organization entails fewer dollars to a high impact organization. Being nice has opportunity costs we can ill afford.
In this hierarchy of needs, saving lives or averting deaths is tops. As I see it the urgent need is security – security of life, security to live without fear of state brutality and harassment. In our democracy, no Canadian should fear violence from police. We do not need new laws. We need our constitutional rights upheld for all.
I recommend focusing support on Black civil rights, legal support, and social justice organizations. Police brutality must stop. No person or organization is above the law. This unaccountability must be brought before the courts. To me, civil rights are more urgent than youth opportunities.
Hierarchy of needs

 
Ways to support social justice in Canada
These are not registered charities. You support because you believe in their work, not for a tax deduction.
Black Lives Matter has chapters in Toronto and Vancouver: https://blacklivesmatter.ca/ Black Lives Matter Toronto and https://blacklivesmattervancouver.com/about-us/ Black Lives Matter Vancouver. These are radical activists at the forefront of anti-Black racism. Black Lives Matter has successfully raised international awareness and is a key driver in advocating change. Black Lives Matter also offers tangible support. In one example, when a Black business was raided by police, Black Lives Matter Toronto gave money for the smashed windows and missing cash.
Also in Ontario, https://www.blacklegalactioncentre.ca/ Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC)  founded in 2017 is a non-profit legal clinic providing free legal services to Blacks. It carries on the work of the African-Canadian Legal Clinic that closed. BLAC is funded through Legal Aid Ontario. With a team of three full-time lawyers, BLAC is led by Ruth Goba, formerly with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. BLAC’s annual budget is $850,000. Its focus is fighting racial profiling by police and educational inequality where Black children are disproportionately disciplined and expelled from Toronto schools. #_edn1″ name=”_ednref1 [i]
Beyond financial support, look also at how you can support anti-Black racism in your community. Policing is a municipal responsibility. Create solidarity with your Black community in the fight for social justice. I review local news articles, specifically looking for mention of civil justice organizations that are commended.
Community activist El Jones says, “I am suspicious of government plans for change.” Political change comes from grassroot efforts – “from the bottom up” – and involves shaming public institutions into action. #_edn2″ name=”_ednref2 [ii] I concur. I too am skeptical of commissions and panels, conferences and recommendations.  I see the most effective change coming from local, community-led initiatives supported by many.
 
Registered charities you have asked that we look at:
http://blackhealthalliance.ca/ Black Health Alliance focuses on Black health issues like how racism triggers stress-reduction with greater prevalence of smoking, and how racial inequities are a fundamental cause in worse health. Its focus is on eliminating Black racism in healthcare. Health is a public right. However, right now Black health would fall in my Blue zone – long term, not urgent for now.
Similarly https://ceetoronto.org/ Careers Education Empowerment Centre for Young Black Professionals, a registered charity that addresses the economic and social barriers affecting Black youth. Founded in April 2018, CEE Centre has a $900,000 operating budget supported by foundations and governments and a full-time staff of 9.
https://www.crrf-fcrr.ca/en/ Canadian Race Relations Foundation is a crown corporation charity that was established by the Federal Government with a $23 million endowment. It was formed in 1988 with the reconciliation towards Japanese Canadians for their incarceration during World War II. Its work is research and data collection, to be an information resource centre, to facilitate consultation, professional training and to raise public awareness. I believe now the urgent need is to focus on anti-Black racism: “Black lives” rather than “All lives”. CRR Foundation reports total operating costs of $1 million with 5 full-time staff. One concern raised by communities is the creation of anti-racism organizations that do not speak for the community but are rather seen as a government public relations exercise.
https://ccla.org/staff-and-board/ Canadian Civil Liberties Association is a new charity. As such, no filings or information is yet available. From its website, it looks like its primary area of experience is in LGBTQ rights. Again, focus support on anti-Black racism.
http://taibuchc.ca/en/home/ TAIBU Community Health Clinic provides primary health care services to the Black and Indigenous communities in Malvern and Scarborough, Ontario. Its focus is addressing chronic health conditions that disproportionately affect the Black community like diabetes, hypertension, cancer, sickle cell diseases and mental health. TAIBU has annual operating costs of $5.6 million with $5.5 million coming from government funding.
 
How to research an organization:
In looking into groups and organizations, visit their website. For Black social justice, I look at its staff and board. I want to see it that its leadership is from the Black community.
 
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birmingham Jail letter calls out our “shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill-well.” To rise beyond our ‘shallow understanding’, I recommend reading Canadian Desmond Cole’s book The Skin We’re In. We read the one-off news stories of racist incidents. Cole connects the dots and shows the pattern. His chapters on police anti-Black brutality are harrowing. Anti-Black racism is not predominantly an American issue – it thrives in Canada. With this deeper understanding, let people of goodwill build social justice in Canada.
Please suggest other organizations to review.
 
Sources:
#_ednref1″ name=”_edn1 [i] Raizel Robin,  “ https://lawandstyle.ca/career/best-practices-how-ruth-goba-plans-to-fight-anti-black-racism-in-the-province/ How Ruth Goba plans to fight anti-black racism in the province.” The Precedent, December 4, 2018
#_ednref2″ name=”_edn2 [ii] Halifax Today “ https://www.halifaxtoday.ca/local-news/police-need-to-build-trust-with-nova-scotias-black-communities-panelists-2068536 Police need to build trust with Nova Scotia’s Black communities: experts discussed the provincial government’s Count Us In report.” February 4, 2020
https://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/canada/systemic-racism-behind-violent-walmart-arrest-retired-cop-399795/ Interesting article from a retired Black Halifax police officer.
 
Legal disclaimer: Sorry, but in this day and age …. The information in this report was prepared by Kate Bahen independently of Charity Intelligence Canada from publicly available information. I have made no endeavours to ensure that this public data is accurate and complete. I accept no liability.
My views and opinions expressed are to inform donors on matters of public interest. Views and opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, organization, individual, or anyone or anything. Any dispute arising from your use of this website or viewing the material hereon shall be governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario, without regard to any conflict of law provisions.

Charity Intelligence’s Top 100 Rated Charities is a list of outstanding charities you can support with confidence this giving season. This list has the 100 charities with the highest point totals based on our rating methodology on 800 charities.
These Top 100 charities:  

• are leaders in reporting to donors with an average results reporting score 44% higher than the average of all charities we have analysed,
• are cost efficient with overhead spending averaging 19%, compared to an average of 27% for all charities we have analysed,
• need support – none have more than three years of funding reserves,
• are all financially transparent

In addition, 46 of these 100 charities have been rated for impact with 12 rating as High impact, 15 as Good impact, and 19 as Average impact per dollar spent.
New tool for you to give
Each Canadian has unique giving interests. Some donors support local charities, some support international charities. Some prefer giving to smaller charities.
With this interactive excel table, click on the column that matches your giving interest, and filter to your heart’s content. You can sort the list of charities by city, by province, by sector, by size, by overhead spending, etc. The choice is yours.
When you want more information, click on the charity name. This is linked to Charity Intelligence’s most recent report on the charity. 
View the 
Please note: These scores and ratings are as at October 20, 2020 based on Charity Intelligence’s most recent analysis. Fiscal years vary. Charity ratings are dynamic and are subject to change as charities improve their transparency, accountability, cost-efficiency and program spending.
 
We are trying to make this list easier for you to filter by. In the meantime, to sort this list by your giving priorities:
1. Click anywhere in the blue heading area
2. Click Data in the top menu headings
3. Choose Filter Views
4. Choose Create New Temporary Filter View
This allows you to sort the list. To the right of each column title (like sector, donations, etc.) is a small upside-down triangle. Click on this to sort each filter by your preference. 
Alternatively, here is the images/2019_Top_100_Charities_for_pdf.pdf” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer 2020 Top 100 Rated Charities list in a pdf. 
 

Key Findings in 2020

 
Excellence comes in all sizes. On this 2019 Top 100 list, 12 charities are “small”.  We define any charity receiving less than $1 million in donations as “small”. The smallest charity on the 2019 Top 100 list is East York Learning Experience in Toronto that received $37,000 in donations. At the other end of the spectrum are eight charities each receiving over $100 million annually in donations, topped by University of British Columbia (UBC) that received $208 million in donations.
Charity Intelligence has reports on approximately 185 “small” Canadian charities, approximately 25% of our charity reports. We continue to find outstanding giving opportunities in these less-known charities.
New charities. Also new in 2020 are 16 charities making their first appearance on the Top 100 list.
Better donor reporting than ever before. This year, some charities have made exceptional efforts to provide excellent annual reports to donors on what they do, who they help, and the results they achieve.
For example, Greater Vancouver Food Bank’s donor reporting grade improved 57% to an A grade.

When I joined the food bank, this was one of my goals. We are proud of the progress …. We really wanted an A+, and will certainly try for that next time.”

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