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text-align: right; Updated October 23, 2018
Advice from the Coach’s Corner – Keep your stick on the ice and your wallet in your pocket when it comes to giving to professional sports foundations.
Be a fan, cheer your favourite team. Yet be careful not to confuse supporting your team with donating to your team. The way professional sports foundations raise money, giving to them should be thought of primarily as entertainment, not intelligent giving.





 
Since the Calgary Flames launched a charity foundation to complement its hockey team in 1983, other professional sports teams have jumped on the philanthropy bandwagon – the Vancouver Canucks in 1986, the Blue Jays in 1992, the Winnipeg Jets in 1996, the Ottawa Senators in 1998, Montreal Canadiens in 2000, and the Edmonton Oilers in 2001. Newly amalgamated in 2009, MLSE Foundation represents the Maple Leafs, Raptors, and Toronto Football Club (soccer).
Having a charity attached to a professional sports team offers a way to build the team’s brand in the community. Athletes give their time to do community service, and sometimes allocate a portion of their signing bonus to the team’s charity. With the donations, corporate sponsorships and money raised from 50/50 draws, the pro team charities fund a variety of charities. Grants go mostly towards other kid and sport-focused charities.
In 2017, Canadians gave $49.7 million to the eight charity foundations associated with professional sports teams. Having three teams under one charity foundation makes Toronto’s Maple Leaf Sports Foundation the league leader by size, with revenues in 2017 at $10.3 million.
Baseball tops all the hockey team charity foundations with Jays Care Foundation raising $9.4 million in 2017. Being a national team with 81 home games in a large stadium with division-leading average attendance of 39,555 (twice the average attendance of hockey, twice the number of home games) has material fundraising advantages.
The hockey teams’ charities raise between $4 million and $7 million, making them among the largest 3% of donor-supported charities in Canada.
 
 
 
Popular 50/50 draws held during games bring in 32% of revenue across all teams.  With the introduction of mobile apps betting, revenues from 50/50 draws have increased 32% to $15.9 million since 2015.
For Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers charity foundations, net profits from 50/50 draws are the largest source of funding. At these charities, 50/50 draw profits account for 65% and 49% of revenues, respectively. The rest of the revenues coming into these team foundations are public donations and sponsorships. Maple Leaf Sports Foundation and Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation get a higher proportion from public donations and corporate sponsorships, 82% and 79% of revenues, respectively. 

 
This lack of financial transparency may not be entirely the foundations’ fault. Inside sources whisper that NHL or MLB policy may restrict these Canadian registered charities from publicly disclosing audited statements.
If so, how ironic. The National Hockey League itself is an American tax-exempt not-for-profit 501 (c)(6) organization. #_edn1″ name=”_ednref1 ^[i] It files its reports with the IRS. The NHL is the last professional sports association to cling to its not-for-profit status, surely one of the most baffling corporate tax breaks in the not-for-profit sector. In 2015, the NFL dropped its tax-exempt status that it had enjoyed since 1942 #_edn2″ name=”_ednref2 ^[ii]. Major League Baseball opted to forgo its non-profit status in 2007. The NBA and NASCAR both file as for-profit companies.
 
Why does financial transparency matter? There is no public expectation for private corporations to disclose financial statements. Team owners do not have an obligation to report. However, registered charities that receive millions in donations and significant tax concessions in exchange for providing a public benefit, arguably have a different obligation to be transparent. Also, how charities spend money is the number one question asked by donors; 98% of Canadians expect charities to be financially transparent. #_edn3″ name=”_ednref3 ^[iii]
Poor financial transparency is particularly curious at Edmonton Oilers Foundation and Calgary Flames Foundation. Financial transparency is a best practice, widespread among many other Western Canadian charities, particularly in Alberta.
Financial transparency is a core value in Charity Intelligence’s objective rating. If these team foundations simply posted audited financial statements for the two most recent years, overall star ratings would likely increase one star.



Charity Intelligence researches Canadian charities for donors to be informed and give intelligently. Charity Intelligence’s website posts free reports on 760 Canadian charities, as well as in-depth primers on philanthropic sectors like Canada’s environment, cancer, and homelessness. Today over 350,000 Canadians use Charity Intelligence’s website as a go-to source for information on Canadian charities reading over 1.6 million charity reports. Through rigorous and independent research, Charity Intelligence aims to assist Canada’s dynamic charitable sector in being more transparent, accountable and focused on results.
Be Have
Sources:
Robert Cribb, ” https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2010/04/24/star_investigation_the_high_cost_of_sports_charities.html Toronto Star investigation: The high cost of sports charities”, Toronto Star, April 24, 2010 
#_ednref1″ name=”_edn1 ^[i] Courtney Cherico, “ https://trust.guidestar.org/four-famous-organizations-you-might-not-know-are-nonprofits 4 Famous Organization You Might Not Know Are Nonprofits”, Guidestar Blog, October 13, 2016
#_ednref2″ name=”_edn2 ^[ii] Drew Harwell and Will Hobson, “ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2015/04/28/the-nfl-is-dropping-its-tax-exempt-status-why-that-ends-up-helping-them-out/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3b08e4d86418 The NFL is dropping its tax-exempt status” Washington Post, April 28, 2015 
#_ednref3″ name=”_edn3 ^[iii] Muttart Foundation “ https://www.muttart.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/3.-Talking-About-Charities-Full-Report-2013.pdf Talking about Charities 2013: Canadian’s Opinions on Charities and Issues Affecting Charities”, 2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

images/Top-10-Impact-Charities.pdf
A growing niche of donors each year is looking for terrific charities to support, particularly those that have measurable, proven, and high impact.
“Impact” and “investing” are buzzwords often bantered around by charities. Many charities have marketing slogans saying they “make a difference”. Charity Intelligence’s rigorous analysis measures this “difference” – the impact – that charities make.
Like all investments, returns vary considerably. Some charities have high impact returns, some charities have low impact returns. Of the 125 Canadian charities that we’ve analysed, these Top 10 have the highest measurable impact. Our calculations estimate that these Top 10 Impact Charities deliver returns of six times on the dollar, compared with average returns of 1-2 times on the dollar.
The 2018 Top 10 Impact Charities cover front-line charities providing social services in Canada as well as international programs. Bringing evidence-based, life-saving interventions to developing countries, like clean water and vaccinations, can have high impact per dollar. As such, five of this year’s Top 10 Impact Charities work overseas. 
text-align: left; 2018 Top 10 Impact Charities based on impact per dollar donated: