How Much of a Donation Goes Directly to Help Survivors and How Much Does the Red Cross Use for Fundraising?
Appeal Donations: Costs of an emergency appeal, including fundraising and trust fund management, is up to eight per cent (8%) of the dollars raised.
The fundraising costs related to emergency appeals will not exceed 8%. The Canadian Red Cross ensures that the largest possible amount of Canadians’ donations will be used to support people affected by the emergency. There are always costs associated with raising funds for emergencies, such as the resources required to process donations securely, or issue tax receipts.
These costs include fundraising services fees (e.g. call centres, digital technologies), donation processing fees (e.g. data entry staff), communications (e.g. media relations, press releases), reporting (studies, donor reports), and all other costs which contribute to the Canadian Red Cross’ emergency fundraising efforts.
General Donations: Of our total operating expenses, 8% is spent on fundraising, 89% on program/service delivery, and 3% on governance and general management.
For more information on the breakdown of donor spending for our other program and services, view our Annual Reports and Strategy documents and our Charity Page.