United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto is a 4-star charity that is financially transparent. It has an average results reporting grade of B and reasonable overhead spending of 12%.

Founded in 1917, United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto (UJAT) supports Jewish communities in Toronto and globally. It works with Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto (the Foundation). The Foundation is a separate registered charity. Together they form UJA Federation of Greater Toronto (UJA Federation). The two charities release an annual report with combined results. UJA Federation is not a registered charity.

UJAT works with many Canadian charities controlled by the UJA Federation. These include Vaughn Jewish Community Campus, Lipa Green Centre for Jewish Community Services, Sherman Campus, 750 Spadina Ave. Association, Jewish Community Properties of Greater Toronto, the Ontario Jewish Archives Foundation, the Jewish Museum of Canada, and Greater Toronto Jewish Federation New Venture. It also controls American Friends of United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto, which is an American charity, and 1867942 Ontario Inc., a for-profit company.

UJAT focuses on five main areas, listed below. Charity Intelligence estimates UJAT spent $56.8m on its programs and grants in its fiscal year ending June 2024 (F2024). UWACR also reports an additional $109.8m in donor-designated grants.

Building Connections to Israel & Empowering Global Jewish Communities received 55% of program spending in F2024. This includes emergency aid for people in Israel. The charity shipped 42 tons of medical supplies and essentials to Israel in F2024. It also sent 20 emergency grants to Israel. UJAT reports it created 150 welcome gifts for children arriving from Israel.

Growing Jewish Education received 14% of program spending in F2024. UJAT reports it supported 7,546 students in GTA Jewish schools. The charity provided 4,361 record collections to the Ontario Jewish Archives. UJAT sent 27 Canadian educators on a seven-day learning program called Binat HaLev in F2024.

Countering Antisemitism & Enhancing Community Security received 11% of program spending in F2024. UJAT reports that 13,000 children and educators received protection through its security grants. It also reports that it helped mobilize over 160,000 people to send over 700,000 emails to elected officials about antisemitism.

Strengthening Jewish Identity received 11% of program spending in F2024. UJAT reports its Jewish partner camps had 521 new overnight campers in F2024. It also supports the Toronto Holocaust Museum (THM). THM ran its annual Neuberer Holocaust Education Week in F2024 and held a night of reflection called Kneading History.

Fighting Poverty & Improving Well-Being received 9% of program spending in F2024. UJAT reports that its partner agencies provided 591,000 social worker personal support hours. The agencies also provided 14,016 car rides for daily needs and 183,086 meals.

UJAT’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a best practice. This means its expenses are clearly defined between program, administrative, and fundraising categories.

In F2024 UJAT received $203.6m in donations, a 35% increase from F2023 ($150.6m). Administrative costs are 7% of revenues (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 5% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 12%. For every dollar donated, 88 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

In F2024 UJAT spent $56.8m on its programs and grants, which is 48% of its revenue (excluding donor-designated grants). In F2024 it had a surplus of $33.7m, which is 15% of its revenue.

UJAT has $81.6m in gross reserve funds (cash and investments) and $24.7m in interest-bearing debts. This results in net reserve funds of $56.9m. The net reserves can cover 100%, or one year of program costs.

In F2024, UJAT paid external fundraisers $142k who collected $686k in donations. This means it cost UJAT 21 cents to raise $1 using external fundraisers. It is likely more cost efficient to directly donate to the charity.

This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on July 9, 2025, by Grady Simpson.