Calgarians have been rightfully proud of the work that non-profits and charities do in the city—work that has been confirmed by Charity Intelligence’s Top 100 Charities list for 2024.

The annual list, created by the Toronto-based non-profit, is based on publicly reported results from charities, financial transparency, social impact, and how much funding is put towards charitable programs versus administrative or fundraising overhead.

For the 2024 list, 14 charities from the animal welfare, environmental, food banks, homeless shelters, youth services, women-focused social service agencies, fundraising foundations, and universities categories were chosen.

Along those chosen were the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS), the Calgary Humane Society, Alberta Wilderness Association, Calgary Food Bank, Calgary Homeless Foundation, Fresh Start Recovery Centre, Inn From the Cold, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area, Discovery House, Fear Is Not Love Society, RESET Society of Calgary, CUPS Calgary Society, United Way of Calgary and Area, and the University of Calgary.

The list was selected from 846 charities that are rated by Charity Intelligence.

“Being recognized by Charity Intelligence as one of Canada’s top charities reinforces our commitment to delivering measurable results for the people of Calgary and area,” said Karen Young, president and CEO of United Way of Calgary and Area.

“It highlights the dedication of our staff, volunteers, partners and donors, whose support allows us to address some of Calgary’s urgent challenges and create long-term sustainable solutions.”

The charity was selected as the top United Way on the list for both “cents for the cause” and for funds in reserve—both metrics cited by Charity Intelligence as methods of determining how funds are used towards supporting and sustaining charitable programs.

“This recognition highlights our commitment to fiscal responsibility and reflects the trust our donors and community have in us to drive short-term and long-term change for Calgary and area. As the affordability crisis persists, the demand for services continues to outpace supply—this recognition reinforces the importance of sustained support, enabling us to address urgent community need and drive lasting, social change,” said Young.

“As stewards of donor dollars, we are committed to ensuring that every contribution directly supports vital work in our community and drives long-term positive outcomes.”

Some of those metrics of contributions cited by the United Way of Calgary and Area were a 91 per cent improvement in the quality of life for people accessing United Way-funded programming and organizations, by 223,240 individuals.

Charities selected for strong financials, transparency, social impact

The Calgary Food Bank was also cited as a top food bank nationally in the Top 100 list for 2024, with demonstrated good social impact, strong financial transparency, and bullseye percentages for cents to the cause.

Charity Intelligence criteria ranks cents for the cause as being strong when the percentage spent on administration is above five per cent, reflecting efforts to create sustainable charitable activities, but below 35 per cent reflecting what the non-profit believes to be the threshold for efficient operations.

Melissa From, CEO of the Calgary Food Bank, said that the food bank making the Top 100 across Canada was important to their organization.

“We feel really good about that, and obviously it’s really important to us. We were started by community for community, and so we’re really accountable to our community… to be able to see some quantifiable evidence that we really do take that responsibility seriously and want to steward the resources we’re entrusted with in the best way possible,” she said.

She said that the reserve fund score, which Charity Intelligence indicated by their own analysis covered two years of operation, was reflective of the hard work that the food bank has done to be ready for challenges.

“It says a lot about how well we’re supported by the community, and those reserve funds are something that can always be a little bit tricky to manage. We want to make sure that we’re spending an appropriate amount of money, appropriate amount of resources, on the work that needs to be done today,” From said.

“But we also recognize that forest fires, flood, famine, all the different situations that we’ve encountered over the last decade, pandemic included in that, it is prudent for us to have a certain amount of our resources earmarked and allocated for emergency response so that we can be as nimble and as responsive quickly as possible.”

From said that she wasn’t surprised that 14 different Calgary charities made the Top 100 list for 2024.

“I’ve worked in the sector for 20 years, and actually in other provinces as well, and it continues to always amaze me how incredibly philanthropic and charitably minded our community is. I think Calgary is really driven by a no-man-left-behind mentality,” she said.

That sentiment was echoed by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area CEO Ken Lima-Coelho, who said that every charity, including BBBS, has been working hard to serve their community.

“We think we’re really working hard on focusing our charity and focusing on the stuff that’s really important. And to be recognized for it, especially on a national list like that, it’s really motivating,” he said.

“It helps us understand that the things we’re doing are resonating with our community. It helps our donors understand that they can place some trust in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area. It’s great for my team. My team can say, ‘look at us. We hold ourselves high. We’re a small charity. We’re always punching above our weight.'”

He said that ultimately running a charity is about running an organization that holds the public’s trust, and that transparency within charities like BBBS, and independently created lists like the Top 100, help hold up that trust.

“We look at return on investment for our social return on investment for our community. And so transparency is a must, and it’s an obligation for our donors and others, but it’s also for the people we serve,” Lima-Coelho said.

“They want to know that they’re trusting their young person with us in a one-on-one relationship. That is the height of trust. So if we can show everybody what we’re doing in a very public and accountable way, then there’s a quid pro quo: that they can trust their their most precious asset, their young person with our team.”

For a full list of the Top 100 charities of 2024, and for the methodology behind their ranking, see www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-profiles/top-100-rated-charities-2.