UNICEF Canada
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
A-
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
Average
DEMONSTRATED IMPACT
The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.
NEED FOR FUNDING
Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.
74%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 74 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About UNICEF Canada:
UNICEF Canada is a 4-star charity with Average Demonstrated Impact. It has an A- Results Reporting grade, which is above average. For every dollar donated, 74 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci's reasonable range.
Founded in 1955, UNICEF Canada raises money for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). UNICEF is a UN agency that aims to protect children’s rights across the globe. UNICEF Canada’s mission is to empower Canadians to invest in the improvement of every child’s future. The charity provides life-saving humanitarian aid including water, vaccines, and medical equipment to people in vulnerable communities. In 2024, UNICEF Canada spent $62.7m to fund UNICEF’s international programs and spent $4.4m on advocacy and research programs in Canada. The charity reports that the number of people affected by conflict have doubled since 1990, affecting over 1 in 6 children globally. UNICEF Canada mostly reports the results of UNICEF, the international charity.
Highest Priority Needs represented 35% of program costs in 2024. UNICEF provides basic needs to children in the most danger around the world. This program area acts as a flexible fund that allows UNICEF Canada to respond quickly wherever children are the most at risk. In F2024, 34 million babies were delivered in UNICEF supported health facilities across 86 countries. The charity reports it delivered over 2 billion doses of vaccines, reaching nearly half of the world’s children and saving 4.4 million lives. UNICEF provided safe and readily available water to over 35 million people in 2024.
Emergency Response represented 28% of program costs in 2024. UNICEF provides humanitarian aid to people in emergency situations. In 2024, UNICEF provided aid in Afghanistan, Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and Yemen. In 2024, 26.4 million children and women accessed primary healthcare and 17.4 million people accessed safe drinking water. The charity provided 9.7 million children with education and 12.2 million children benefitted from early detection services of severe malnutrition. UNICEF also provided mental health and psychological support to 12.6 million children and caregivers.
Education represented 21% of program costs in 2024. UNICEF works to enroll children in schools, train teachers, improve infrastructure, and increase access to education materials in poor countries. The charity reports that over 600 million children and adolescents don’t have adequate math and literacy skills. In 2024, UNICEF reached 25,500 youths through education and parenting programs. It also helped 10,230 out-of-school and at-risk children access educational support and developed standards to ensure equitable education for disabled children that reached 22,700 children and teachers.
Canadian Advocacy and Research represented 8% of program costs in 2024. UNICEF Canada advocates for Canadian child rights to ensure Canada is a great place to grow up. The charity also produces research reports that compare Canada’s living situations with other wealthy countries. The charity reports that Canada ranks 30th out of 38 wealthy countries for child and youth wellbeing, with 20% of Canadian children living in poverty and 1 in 5 reporting a mental health challenge. In 2024, UNICEF Canada collaborated with 109 schools and engaged 2,500 Canadian youths to discuss issues that mattered to them.
The remaining 8% of spending was spent on Health, Nutrition, HIV, WASH, and Child Protection programs.
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Results and Impact
In 2024, 24 million babies were delivered at UNICEF supported health centres. The charity provided 2 billion doses of vaccines that saved 4.4 million lives and provided safe water to over 34 million people. 26.4 million children and women in conflict zones accessed primary healthcare and UNICEF detected severe malnutrition in 12.2 million people.
In 2024, the government of Canada announced plans for a National School Food program, a policy UNICEF Canada advocated for. The charity reports this policy could provide healthier meals for up to 400,000 children in school.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of UNICEF Canada’s results and impact.
Ci has rated UNICEF Canada as Average based on demonstrated impact per dollar spent.
Impact Rating: Average
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Finances
UNICEF Canada’s audited financial statements use activity-based costing, which is a best practice. Ci used the charity’s T3010 filing with the CRA to report provincial government funding and investment income, which are ideally reported on the charity’s statements.
In 2024, UNICEF Canada received $79.6m in Canadian donations, representing 95% of revenue. The charity spent $67.1m on its programs and grants, which is 79% of revenue. UNICEF Canada recorded a deficit of $4.0m in 2024.
UNICEF Canada spent $17.9m on fundraising, which is 22% of donations, and $3.1m on administration, which is 4% of revenue (excluding investment income). Total overhead spending is 26%. For every dollar donated, 74 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.
UNICEF Canada has $17.6m in reserve funds (cash and investments), which can cover 3 months of its annual program and grant costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
UNICEF Canada uses external fundraisers. In 2024, UNICEF Canada paid fundraisers $7.2m to collect $16.3m. It cost 44 cents to raise a dollar through external fundraisers. It is likely more efficient to donate directly to the charity.
This charity report is an update that has been sent to UNICEF Canada for review.
Updated on July 23, 2025 by Liam Chapleau.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending December
|
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 3.7% | 5.4% | 3.9% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 22.5% | 30.2% | 26.0% |
| Total overhead spending | 26.2% | 35.6% | 29.9% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 26.2% | 60.1% | 49.0% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 79,610 | 50,742 | 63,379 |
| International donations | 2,097 | 2,131 | 2,738 |
| Government funding | 1,333 | 1,322 | 25 |
| Business activities (net) | 71 | 43 | 404 |
| Investment income | 936 | 768 | 410 |
| Other income | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Total revenues | 84,047 | 55,012 | 66,957 |
| Program costs | 4,369 | 4,302 | 3,741 |
| Grants | 62,731 | 31,460 | 37,827 |
| Administrative costs | 3,066 | 2,928 | 2,606 |
| Fundraising costs | 17,911 | 15,337 | 16,463 |
| Total spending | 88,076 | 54,028 | 60,638 |
| Cash flow from operations | (4,029) | 984 | 6,319 |
| Capital spending | 83 | 159 | 158 |
| Funding reserves | 17,567 | 21,481 | 20,389 |
Note: 1. Deferred Revenue and Contributions Receivable: Ci accounted for deferred contributions within Canadian donations. This affected revenue by ($4.4m) in 2024, ($115k) in 2023, and ($137k) in 2022. 2. Deferred Capital Contributions: Ci removed deferred capital contributions from other revenue, which affected revenue by ($27k) in 2024, 2023, and 2022. 3. UNICEF receivable: Ci accounted for the change in amount received and recognized from UNICEF within international donations. This affected revenue by ($nil) in 2024, ($181k) in 2023, and ($130k) in 2022. 4. UNICEF Payable: Ci adjusted for the change in amounts payable to UNICEF within grants. This affected expenses by ($349k) in 2024, ($1.1m) in 2023, and ($6.5m) in 2022.
Salary Information
$350k + |
1 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
4 |
$160k - $200k |
3 |
$120k - $160k |
2 |
$80k - $120k |
0 |
$40k - $80k |
0 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2024
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
The following comment is related to a previous profile update:
UNICEF is the world’s leading humanitarian organization for children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work tirelessly to help children survive and have a chance at a better future. UNICEF defends every child’s right to a childhood, so they can grow up safe, healthy, and able to reach their potential. UNICEF is the only organization named in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as the world’s source of expert assistance and advice. While UNICEF is part of the UN system, we rely entirely on voluntary contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations. UNICEF also receives grants from governments around the world who trust us to make a difference for children.
UNICEF Canada is a National Committee of UNICEF, mandated to fundraise and advocate for the well-being of children around the world, and in Canada. UNICEF Canada strives to be the leading advocate for children’s rights with governments at all levels. We also engage children and youth in decision-making, and amplify their voices in policy-making and priority-setting. For the next four years, UNICEF Canada is focused on the following priorities to defend the right to a childhood. Globally, these priorities are the global learning crisis; malnutrition; improving children’s health and survival; supporting children and families in humanitarian situations; and the climate crisis. In Canada, we continue to advocate for family-friendly policies and child-friendly governance, while working to amplify the voices of 3,000 marginalized youth through unique learning and advocacy opportunities.
UNICEF has unique influence with governments. This means that all our initiatives are scalable and many are adopted by host governments to be sustained over many years, creating a multiplier effect for Canadian donor dollars. UNICEF’s core priority areas are education, health, nutrition, protection, and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH). Every year, UNICEF helps to vaccinate nearly half the world’s children under age five. Vaccines are one of the simplest, most cost-effective and most successful ways to save children’s lives. UNICEF is also the world’s largest collector of data about every aspect of being a child, making us the global expert on what it takes to protect the right to a childhood.
In 2021, UNICEF provided assistance in 483 humanitarian crises in 153 countries. These included natural disasters, armed conflicts, and nutrition and health emergencies including the COVID-19 pandemic. During emergencies, UNICEF is the world’s lead on WASH and nutrition, and is co-lead on education with a focus on girls’ education. This leadership ensures that emergency response efforts meet stringent standards, and are coordinated to ensure the most effective deployment of resources. We are in countries before, during and after an emergency, giving us the ability to mobilize quickly and achieve impact. UNICEF’s logistics capacity is unrivalled, anchored by the world’s largest humanitarian supplies warehouse (in Copenhagen, Denmark), giving us the ability to quickly deploy life-saving materials around the world.
Charity Contact
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