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A growing niche of donors each year is looking for terrific charities to support, particularly those that have measurable, proven, and high impact.
Most charities claim that they “make a difference” in the lives of those they work with. Charity Intelligence’s rigorous analysis measures the difference, or the impact, charities actually make to see how each dollar we give can have the most bang for the buck.
$17 billion was given to charities by Canadian donors last year and a significant portion of that is wasted, going to the wrong charities. Based on our work, up to 40 per cent of donations may be wasted by donors giving based solely on the reputation of the charity or by getting distracted by salaries or administrative costs.
“Some charities create a lot of change with the donations given to them. Others have almost nothing to show for the money coming from donors” says Greg Thomson, Director of Research at Charity Intelligence. “Of the 260 Canadian charities we analysed for impact, these Top 10 have the highest measurable demonstrated impact. Our calculations estimate this group of Top 10 Impact Charities delivers average returns of almost seven dollars for every dollar donated, compared with average returns of 1-2 dollars.”
The 2020 Top 10 Impact Charities cover frontline charities providing social services in Canada as well as international programs. Many of these programs bring evidence-based programs to developing countries, like clean water and education, which can produce high impact per dollar. Because of this, seven of this year’s Top 10 Impact Charities work overseas in developing countries.
 
text-align: left; 2020 Top 10 Impact Charities based on demonstrated impact per dollar donated (listed alphabetically): 

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 750 charities.
These Top 100 charities:  

• are leaders in reporting to donors, a good sign of accountability,
• are cost efficient with overhead spending averaging 20%, compared to an average of 26% for all charities we analyse,
• need support – none have more than three years of funding reserves,
• are financially transparent – well, 99% are.
  Please note: These scores and ratings are as at September 30, 2019 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 2019 Top 100 Rated Charities list in a pdf. 
   

  Key Findings in 2019

   
  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 2019 are 24 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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Eleven charities on Ci’s 2020 Top 100 Rated Charities list are small. Ci identifies any charity receiving less than $1 million in donations as “small”. East York Learning is the smallest charity on the list, receiving $37,000 in donations for its exceptional work in adult education. 
Here is the list of the 11 small charities on Ci’s 2020 Top 100 Rated Charities List:
 
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/165-east-york-learning-experience East York Learning Experience Education – adult
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/924-girls-e-mentorship-innovation Girls E-Mentorship Innovation Youth
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/981-the-compass The Compass  NEW in 2020 – Food bank
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/910-alberta-wilderness-association Alberta Wilderness Association Environment
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/123-central-toronto-community-health-centres Central Toronto Community Health Centres Health
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/822-ethiopiaid-canada Ethiopiaid Canada International Aid
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/159-boundless-school Boundless Schools Education – At-risk Youth
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/878-street-health Street Health Health for Homeless
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/594-george-hull-centre-for-children-and-families George Hull Centre for Children and Families Mental Health
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/889-lifewater-canada Lifewater Canada International Aid
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/797-ryan-s-well Ryan’s Well International Aid
 
(to see a images/2020/small_charities_2020.png pdf of the Small Charities in 2020 Top 100 list) 
images/2020/small_charities_2020.png
 
One frequent comment about charity ratings is that it is a disadvantage to small charities. Far from it!
The status quo favours marketing. The more charities spend on marketing, direct mail, and advertising, the more they receive in donations. Small charities cannot possibly afford to spend the millions on marketing that large charities spend to capture donor’s attention. However, analysing a charity’s data – its outcomes, its impact, its cost efficiency – is relative. It creates a level playing field. On a level playing field, small charities can shine.
The most frequent question donors have is about how charities spend money. All charities should follow best practices in financial transparency. If a charity has a website and asks for donations, it should post its financial statements. Every charity should also write an annual report about its work and its results. It doesn’t need to be glossy. We’ve seen small charities share reports that get the highest grades in donor reporting. Larger charities may have some advantages in reporting on their work, but a dedicated executive director’s report on a smaller charity can score equally well or better.
While some donors have a preference for giving to small charities, our data and analysis does not see a charity’s performance correlated to size. Great charities can be small and large, and every size in between. 
We hope this list of small high-rated charities introduces you to some small charities you may not have heard about that Charity Intelligence rates as among the elite 5-star charities. 
 
If you find Charity Intelligence’s research useful in your giving,  https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/charity-intelligence-canada/ please consider donating to support our work. Being entirely funded by donors like you maintains our independence and objectivity to help Canadians be informed in their giving. Canadians donate over $17 billion each year. This giving could achieve tremendous results. We hope Charity Intelligence’s research helps Canadians give better.
 
About Charity Intelligence
Charity Intelligence’s website has reports on over 800 Canadian charities. These charities receive more than $9.7 billion in donations each year, representing an estimated 57% of total Canadian giving. Charity Intelligence’s reports give donors the facts and figures to answer their questions about how charities spend money and the results they achieve. 77% of donors say that reading a Charity Intelligence report increased their confidence in giving and, with greater confidence, they gave 32% more money.
In 2016, Statistics Canada reported that nearly a third of Canadians weren’t giving as much to charities as they could because they had unanswered questions. We hope that by answering donors’ questions with independent reports, we can help Canadian donors give intelligently.
At the same time, some Canadian charities are striving to improve their star ratings. These charities are becoming more transparent and accountable. This makes Canada’s charity sector better for all.
 

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