Cost of Fundraising
Is it true that the MS Society has a high cost of administration?
Can you tell me where my fundraising dollars go?
Two questions are posed here. The first answer is quick - the MS Society's
administration expense for 2010 was 6 per cent. This covers things like
administrative staff, office rental costs and insurance. The cost of
our fundraising events for the same period was 42 per cent. Some programs
like MS Walk and the RONA MS Bike Tours are lower than this overall
average while others like the MS Read-A-Thon and our direct mail program
are higher. What follows below is important context to answer fully
the question of where the fundraising dollars go.
The MS Society is a national charity led by volunteers who believe
wholeheartedly in what we do and how we do it. We have over a million
donors and 100,000 event participants annually supporting our work and
we receive only 2% of our revenue from the government. In contrast,
according to Statistics Canada, the majority of charities in the health
sector receive 70% of their funding from the government.
With virtually no government funding and comparatively low bequest
revenue -sources of revenue that significantly lower the costs
of fundraising for other charities - the MS Society must raise funds
through a variety of means. Other organizations that receive significant
amounts of funding from government do not need to incur certain fundraising
expenses to generate the dollars necessary to support the clients that
they serve. Therefore, we would be reducing the net revenue that helps
those affected by MS if we decided to eliminate fundraising events that
have higher expense factors.
Like any other charity that raises funds, fundraising costs
are a reality. Some of our most grassroots events like our
walking and cycling events have significant costs associated
with them: staff to coordinate the event and manage thousands of volunteers
who help organize the events, producing and mailing approximately 200,000
tax receipts annually, marketing materials to encourage participants
to raise funds, prizes to reward fundraising efforts, security,
and rental of start/finish locations among many others.
As a predominantly self-funded charity it would be unduly risky for
us to focus on only one or two sources of funds and it would
also be insufficient. That's why we have to raise funds through a diverse
portfolio of sources and campaigns, each with its own cost structure
- much like businesses have different product lines with different profit
margins.
Our reporting policies are transparent and responsible, and
adherent to all government and industry standards. We have
extensive volunteer oversight and control mechanisms to ensure
every dollar raised is used to maximum benefit.
Here is a breakdown of costs from our 2010 fiscal year. $33 million
in program expenditures were disbursed as follows:
-
$9.6 million client services - including education programs, self-help
groups, recreational and social programs, information and referral
services, financial support for daily living or equipment needs, etc.
-
$10.3 million research - research grants, scholarships, fellowships,
and support of our endMS Research & Training Network and new
research funding into the relationship between CCSVI and
MS.
-
$7.0 million public education and awareness - awareness campaigns,
newsletters
-
$3.8 million chapter and volunteer support and development - volunteer
recruitment and training, as well as chapter support from division
and national offices
-
$1.7 million government and community relations - educating all
levels of government about needed changes to benefit people living
with MS and assistance to clients dealing with local transit and accessibility
issues.
-
$922,000 - MS clinics - support to 27 MS clinics across the country
that provide direct medical support to people living with MS
For more information please see the National
Impact Report and National Stakeholders' Report.
Learn more about donating with
confidence to the MS Society of Canada.
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