Parkinson 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.
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.
50%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 50 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Parkinson Canada:
Parkinson Canada is a financially transparent 3-star charity. It has an A- results reporting grade, which is above average. Its overhead spending is outside Ci’s reasonable range, and it has reserve funds to cover one year and ten months of its annual program costs.
Founded in 1965, Parkinson Canada (PSC) runs programs to help people with Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s is a degenerative brain disease that affects movement and motor skills. The charity's vision is a world where nobody is limited by Parkinson’s. PSC states that over 110,000 people in Canada live with Parkinson’s. It also states that the cost of Parkinson’s in Canada in 2024 was $3.3 billion, and it is expected to rise to $4.4 billion by 2030.
PSC runs four main programs, listed below. Charity Intelligence calculates PSC spent $8.8m on its programs and grants in 2024.
The Research program received 38% ($3.3m) of program spending in 2024. PSC funds research on the causes, progression, and treatment of Parkinson’s. The charity reports that it funded 23 research projects in 2024. It also reports on the results of its 2025 Parkinson’s research competition, where it granted a total of $2.0m to 28 researchers.
Programs and Services received 30% ($2.6m) of program spending in 2024. The charity provides free programs and services for people with Parkinson’s, both in-person and online. PSC reports that 1,350 people living with Parkinson’s attend its support groups each month. The charity's 1:1 Peer Support program matches newly diagnosed people with someone with lived experience. The program had 26 matches in 2024. PSC also reports that it answered 2,350 calls for support and 3,075 email requests for support.
The Awareness program received 20% ($1.8m) of program spending in 2024. PSC reports that almost 320,000 people visited its website to access information and support in 2024. It also launched its Find Your Swagger campaign. This campaign aims to reduce stigma around Parkinson’s and help people find strength and purpose in their diagnosis.
The Advocacy program received 12% ($1.0m) of program spending in 2024. PSC advocates for people with Parkinson’s. It held a roundtable event to discuss the government’s role in helping people with Parkinson’s in 2024.
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Results and Impact
In June 2024, the New Brunswick government announced that a deep brain simulation surgery clinic will be established at Moncton Hospital. PSC reports that it advocated for this in its 2024 pre-budget submission to the New Brunswick government.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not completely represent Parkinson Canada’s results and impact.
Charity Intelligence has not yet rated PSC on impact (n/r). This does not affect the star rating.
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Finances
Parkinson Canada’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a best practice. Its expenses are clearly defined between program, administrative, and fundraising categories.
In 2024 PSC received $12.1m in donations and special events fundraising. Administrative costs are 20% of revenues (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 31% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 50%. For every dollar donated, 50 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.
In 2024 PSC spent $8.8m on its programs and grants, which is 65% of its revenue. In 2024 it had a deficit of $1.4m.
PSC has $16.3m in reserve funds (cash and investments). Excluding $230k in donor-endowed funds, the net funding reserves can cover 183%, or just under one year and ten months of program costs.
This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to Parkinson Canada. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.
Updated on July 31, 2025, by Grady Simpson.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending December
|
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 19.6% | 15.5% | 16.2% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 30.9% | 26.4% | 24.4% |
| Total overhead spending | 50.5% | 41.8% | 40.6% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 182.5% | 277.5% | 287.3% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 9,092 | 10,028 | 10,489 |
| International donations | 0 | 142 | 95 |
| Government funding | 0 | 30 | 30 |
| Special events | 3,031 | 2,597 | 2,114 |
| Investment income | 1,172 | 887 | (476) |
| Other income | 242 | 167 | 33 |
| Total revenues | 13,537 | 13,851 | 12,284 |
| Program costs | 8,665 | 5,021 | 4,434 |
| Grants | 131 | 1,404 | 919 |
| Administrative costs | 2,421 | 2,005 | 2,071 |
| Fundraising costs | 3,749 | 3,330 | 3,072 |
| Total spending | 14,965 | 11,761 | 10,496 |
| Cash flow from operations | (1,428) | 2,090 | 1,787 |
| Capital spending | 34 | 21 | 68 |
| Funding reserves | 16,258 | 18,029 | 15,577 |
Note: Deferred adjustment: PSC uses deferred accounting. To show donors information on a consistent basis, Ci adjusted for these deferred revenues. This affected revenue by ($424k) in 2024, ($575k) in 2023, and $nil in 2022. Change in research grants payable: Ci adjusted for change in research grants payable. This affected expenses by $131k in 2024, ($314k) in 2023, and ($193k) in 2022. Amortization: Ci removed amortization on a pro rata basis from program, administrative, and fundraising costs in 2024, 2023, and 2022. T3010: Ci used the charity’s T3010 to report government funding, international donations, and gifts to qualified donees. The most recent T3010 available at the time of this update was from 2023. As such, Ci could not report on government funding, international donations, and gifts to qualified donees for 2024.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
1 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
3 |
$120k - $160k |
2 |
$80k - $120k |
4 |
$40k - $80k |
0 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2023
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
These comments were provided for a previous version of this profile.
With your support Parkinson Canada has made great strides in Parkinson’s research, health care provider information, and services to support people with Parkinson’s disease and care partners.
Its because of your generosity that Parkinson Canada has accomplished this and so much more.
Parkinson Canada is committed to transparency in service of Canadians living with Parkinson’s. For those looking for further detail on the communities we serve, or 2019 areas of impact, we invite you to visit Parkinson.ca or read our Annual Report, available here: https://www.parkinson.ca/about-us/financial-reports/.
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 416-227-9700