Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation
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.
B-
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
n/r
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.
73%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 73 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation:
Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation is a 3-star charity. It is financially transparent and has a B- results reporting grade, which is below average. Its overhead spending is 27%, which is within Ci’s reasonable range. Its reserve funds can cover program costs for over 13 years, which is not within Ci’s reasonable range.
Founded in 1976, Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation (HHSF) funds activities for the Hamilton Health Sciences organization which owns hospitals and care centres in Hamilton. Some hospital locations include the Hamilton General Hospital, the Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre, the McMaster Children's Hospital, St. Peter’s Hospital, and Ron Joyce Children's Health Centre. The money HHSF raises pays for clinical care and medical research. Medical technology is very expensive, which means financing equipment can be a challenge. Burn survivors deal with scarring, pain, impaired function and itch, and mental health challenges. These survivors sometimes wait years for surgery due to long waitlists.
The charity granted $16.3m in 2024. HHSF funds four main areas: Equipment and Patients, Research and Fellowships, Redevelopment, and Education and Bursaries.
Equipment and Patients got 69% ($11.3m) of spending in 2024. It purchases medical equipment to improve diagnosis and treatments. In 2024, it upgraded the B3 Ward at Juravinski Hospital into a Level 2 Critical Care Unit. In 2024, it reported that it purchased a robotic exoskeleton that helps patients regain mobility faster. It also purchased 30 specialty patient beds, two new apheresis machines, and four specialized airways carts. The apheresis machines help facilitate stem cell transplants and the airways carts help patients breathe.
Research and Fellowships got 24% ($3.9m) of spending in 2024. It funds research to Hamilton Health Sciences to advance medical knowledge in Hamilton. In 2024, it gave 22 research grants to improve health care excellence. It funded a five-year study that explores innovative therapies to heal burn victims. In 2024, HHSF also funded a Stroke Fellowship Program focused on stroke research and innovative cardiac procedures.
Redevelopment got 4% ($717k) of spending in 2024. It funds new care spaces to support patient healing and family bonding. In October 2022, it planted a new pollinator garden at St. Peter’s Hospital.
Education and Bursaries got 3% ($475k) of spending in 2024. It funds education and bursaries for health care workers to deliver high-quality care. In 2024, it awarded 32 grants to support ongoing education for hospital staff. In 2023, it funded emergency response training to over 1,000 participants.
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Results and Impact
Ci found that Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation reported many stories, but few results on its work.
While Ci highlights these lack of results, they may not be a complete representation of HHSF’s results and impact.
Ci has not calculated HHSF’s impact. This shows as n/r and does not affect the star rating.
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Finances
Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation’s audited financial statements do not provide a breakdown between research grants and grants to hospitals, nor do they provide a breakdown between administrative and fundraising costs. Ci referred to its T3010 filings with the CRA Charities Directorate to report grants, and administrative and fundraising costs.
HHSF received $28.7m in donations in 2024, which is 52% of total revenue. It earned $26.0m in investment income in 2024, which is 47% of total revenue. In 2024, it granted a total of $16.3m, which is 29% of revenue. Its three largest grant recipients were Hamilton Health Sciences ($12.1m), McMaster University ($1.6m), and Autism Alliance of Canada ($351k). HSSF recorded a surplus of $31.4m (57% of revenue) in 2024.
HHSF spent $5.6m on fundraising costs, which is 19% of donations. It spent $2.2m on administrative costs, which is 7% of revenue. HHSF has total overhead spending of 27%. For every dollar donated to HHSF, 73 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
HHSF has $219.9m in reserve funds (cash and investments). It has donor endowments of $21.3m. HHSF’s reserve funds can cover 1302% or just over 13 years of its annual grant costs. This is not within Ci’s reasonable range of three years or less.
In 2024, HHSF had investment returns of 14%. It is 62% invested in equities. Its investment returns have averaged 8% over the last five years.
From 2025 to 2029, HHSF is committed to a total minimum payment of $1.2m for its operating lease regarding premises and equipment.
This report is an update that has been sent to Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.
Updated on August 6th, 2025, by Leah DeFrancesco.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending December
|
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 7.4% | 6.7% | 8.3% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 19.5% | 18.8% | 20.8% |
| Total overhead spending | 26.9% | 25.5% | 29.1% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 1,304.0% | 1,082.9% | 1,497.9% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 28,656 | 28,688 | 22,825 |
| Lotteries (net) | 769 | 810 | 808 |
| Investment income | 25,997 | 17,456 | (5,925) |
| Total revenues | 55,421 | 46,955 | 17,708 |
| Program costs | 2,174 | 0 | 0 |
| Grants | 14,125 | 16,657 | 10,824 |
| Donated goods exp | 10 | 16 | 115 |
| Administrative costs | 2,178 | 1,976 | 1,967 |
| Fundraising costs | 5,579 | 5,397 | 4,743 |
| Total spending | 24,066 | 24,046 | 17,649 |
| Cash flow from operations | 31,355 | 22,909 | 59 |
| Capital spending | 35 | 20 | 20 |
| Funding reserves | 219,946 | 188,829 | 166,695 |
Note: 1. Ci has presented lottery income as net of expenses, affecting revenue and expenses by ($933k) in 2024, ($954k) in 2023, and ($1.1m) in 2022. 2. Ci accounts for revenue and expenses only when it has been paid or received. As such, grants due to Hamilton Health Sciences affected expenses by ($24k) in 2024, ($448k) in 2023, and ($570k) in 2022. 3. Amortization: Ci removed amortization of $98k in 2024, $111k in 2023, and $125k in 2022 from program, administrative and fundraising costs on a pro-rata basis. 4. Ci reported the value of donated goods used in charitable activities from the charity’s T3010 filing from the CRA, increasing expenses by $115k in 2022.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
1 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
2 |
$160k - $200k |
1 |
$120k - $160k |
4 |
$80k - $120k |
2 |
$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:
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 905-522-3863