War Amputations of Canada is a 2-star charity with Low Demonstrated Impact. The charity has a C Results Reporting grade, which is below average. For every dollar donated, 92 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1918, War Amputations of Canada (War Amps) works to improve the quality of life for all Canadian amputees, including veterans and children. Headquartered in Ottawa, War Amps supports amputees by providing funding for artificial limbs, helping child amputees develop a positive outlook on life, developing resources for those living with an amputation, and advocating on behalf of amputees. War Amps reports that amputees do not receive enough funding from their provincial health-care plans or private insurers to cover the cost of artificial limbs. At the time of this update, War Amps’ 2024 audited financial statements were not available, but its 2024 annual report was. While program information refers to 2024 results, financial information is from 2023. In 2023, War Amps spent $41.3m on its programs.  

In 2024, War Amps granted $18.4m through 2,542 requests across all its programs.

Key Tag Service Division made up 36% of program costs in 2023. Through the key tag service, all Canadians can register for coded tags to attach to their key rings. If someone later finds a lost key ring with a War Amps tag, they can place the keys in any Canadian mailbox and War Amps will return them to their owner. War Amps states that it helped return 5,606 keys in 2024 and more than 1.5 million keys since its founding.

The Adult Amputee program accounted for 26% of spending in 2023. Its goal is to help fund the purchase of artificial limbs for adult amputees, as well as provide them with informational resources. In 2024, War Amps increased the amount of its one-time new enrollee grant to $1,500 per amputation and up to $6,000 for quadruple amputees. Through this program, War Amps distributed $2.8m to 1,705 adult amputees in 2024.

Child Amputee (CHAMP) services made up 20% of program costs in 2023. Through the CHAMP program, War Amps provides comprehensive support to child amputees and their families. This includes funding for prosthetic limbs, educational sessions, parenting resources, and peer support programs. In 2024, War Amps awarded $482k across 91 bursaries to post-secondary students with amputations. The charity hosted two events, which reached 426 families, including 62 CHAMP families.

Service and Advocacy represented 6% of program costs in 2023. War Amps works on behalf of amputees who have encountered discrimination in accessing appropriate amputee care, financial benefits, and legal rights. The charity also advocates to the government for improved support for amputees. In 2024, War Amps sent $254k to 65 adult amputees experiencing financial hardship. The charity also advocated for improvements to the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). War Amps reports that $2,400 per year is not enough to cover daily living costs, let alone the expensive artificial limbs that amputees need to walk or dress themselves. The charity argued that the CDB plan is too broad, as it includes individuals who can earn an income through employment. War Amps proposed that the most vulnerable should be prioritized, which would allow the CDB to pay more to those with lower incomes.

The remaining 12% of program costs went toward its Playsafe program, Drivesafe program, Prosthetics Research program, Special Projects program, Survivor’s Subsistence Grants program, Veterans’ Issues, program, and Widows’ Assistance program.

War Amputations of Canada’s audited statements use line-item costing, which is not a best practice. Ci used the charity’s T3010 filing with the CRA to adjust program, fundraising, and administrative costs.

In 2023, War Amps received $47.2m in donations, which includes $37.4m in Key Tag Service donations. The charity spent $41.3m on its programs, which includes $16.1m spent on its Key Tag Service Division program. Program costs are 82% of revenue. In 2024, War Amps recorded a surplus of $5.4m, which is 11% of revenue. Over the past five years, War Amps has returned a total of $55.5m in surplus.

War Amps spent $638k on fundraising, which is 1% of donations, and $3.1m on administration, which is 7% of revenue (excluding investment income). Total overhead spending is 8%. For every dollar donated, 92 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.

War Amps has $80.2m in reserve funds (cash and investments), which can cover 1 year and 11 months of its annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to War Amputations of Canada for review.

Updated on August 19, 2025 by Liam Chapleau.