Kars4Kids / Oorah Charitable Foundation is a 1-star charity that is not financially transparent. The charity has an F Results Reporting grade, which means it inadequately reports to donors on how their money helped. For every dollar donated to the charity, 73 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.

Founded in 2006, Kars4Kids, the company behind the jingle played on television and radio, issues tax receipts for donated vehicles. The money goes to Oorah Charitable Foundation (OCF), a Jewish youth charity. OCF runs youth mentorship, education, and camp programs to help kids connect with their Jewish heritage.

The American Kars4Kids charity was involved in a class action lawsuit in April 2024. It was accused of deceiving donors into donating their vehicles to Kars4Kids for undisclosed and misrepresented purposes. For more information, read Charity Watch’s post. Kars4Kids’ advertisements do not mention where the funds go or how they are used.

Despite earning $11.6m in revenue, the Canadian charity does not publish an annual report nor make publicly available its audited financial statements. A donor would not know how the charity spent its money, nor what difference the charity made with its money. The charity also does not have a Canadian website. It is unknown if the charity runs any programs for Canadian youth.  

The Oorah website reports that it awards scholarships to 2,000 students annually and its camps receive over 1,000 campers each summer. Its Rebbetzins program has over 1,554 engaged members and its TorahMates program reports that over 13,000 students learn weekly. As Oorah Charitable Foundation is a charity in the U.S. and Canada, these numbers likely refer to either its its programs across North America or strictly in the U.S. 

Kars4Kids / Oorah Charitable Foundation is not financially transparent. Charity Intelligence used its T3010 filing with the CRA for this financial report. Once we receive the audited financials, we will update this report.

Kars4Kids / Oorah Charitable Foundation received $69k in donations in F2024. The charity received $10.7m in donated vehicles, which accounts for 93% of revenue. The charity spent $8.9m on its programs, which is 77% of revenue. It recorded a deficit of $4.2m in F2024. Over the past three years, the charity has averaged a surplus of $1.3m.

The charity does not report any fundraising costs within its T3010. This ratio is likely understated. Charity Intelligence included advertising and promotion and administrative costs within fundraising and administrative costs. The charity spent $2.9m on overhead, which was 27% of revenue (excluding investment income) in F2024. For every dollar donated to the charity, 73 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.

OCF’s T3010 reports it spent $4.8m on “Other Costs”. This is 30% of its spending.

OCF has $13.3m in reserve funds (cash and investments). The charity’s reserves can cover 149% or one year and six months of its annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

Oorah Charitable Foundation does not report any paid employees on its T3010. This is a mandatory filing.

Report created on February 5, 2025 by Liam Chapleau.