This is what accountability looks like.
We’re serious about managing donor contributions wisely, and we believe you should feel confident when you give to charity. Every dollar you give to United Way East Ontario stays 100% local in Prescott-Russell, Ottawa, Lanark County and Renfrew County, and our communities are measurably stronger because of the work you empower us to do.
But you don’t have to take our word for it:
Independent charity analysts believe we’re an exceptional charity, too.
5-out-of-5 star rating
United Way East Ontario is one of Canada’s top-performing charities, having earned top marks from Charity Intelligence five years in a row. We still ranked highly before that, but we worked our way to the top and we intend to stay there.
Top 100 rated charity
In 2023, for the fifth year in a row, we made the independent research organization’s Top 100 Rated Charities list. Charity Intelligence impartially analyzes the transparency, accountability and cost-efficiency of more than 800 Canadian charities each year—empowering donors like you to make informed, intelligent giving decisions.
Top marks from Charity Intelligence
We received an “A” for results reporting and a "✔+" for financial transparency from Charity Intelligence.
MoneySense Top 100 Charity
United Way East Ontario (formerly United Way Ottawa) made the top of the 2020 MoneySense Charity 100 list, which analyzes the transparency and efficiency of Canadian charities.
Maclean's Best Charity
United Way East Ontario also ranked second on Maclean’s top 100 list of Canada’s best charities for 2020.
For every dollar donated, 80 cents goes directly to our local community initiatives.
This is within Charity Intelligence’s reasonable range. With our crisis responses and government grants, this number is often much higher.
At United Way East Ontario, we classify certain expenses that are often considered administrative costs as impact costs. This includes the human resources behind the research we do to understand where the needs are greatest, the advocacy we embark on to influence policy change, and the evaluation and reporting on investment outcomes that keeps us accountable to our impact.
What about the other 20 cents? These go a long way—they help us raise the next dollar and charge ahead with our mission. This often means utility bills and technology costs, but it’s also about the people. In the non-profit sector, many people are driven by their passion for making a difference, but they also deserve wages that are livable and responsive to economic changes. By offering competitive salaries, benefits, learning opportunities, and more, we can retain talented, driven members of our team who ensure every cent is maximized for good.
As a supporter, you want your donations to have the greatest possible impact, and so do we. Every dollar spent on administrative costs is a dollar invested in our ability to create meaningful, sustainable, and lasting change.ring.
If you want to dig a little deeper, you can see the public T3010 report we file with CRA annually. You can also read our annual reports and financial statements, all of which are updated and publicly shared each spring.
Our impact
We’re not just about dollars and cents. To tackle the toughest problems our communities face, United Way East Ontario uses real-time research, data and stories of lived experiences to understand the challenges before us. We draw the right people to the table to address them, advocate for change, partner to build innovative solutions, and fundraise for support.
We then invest our available resources in smart, strategic ways, to ultimately help the people who depend on us.
Recent news and stories
Take a look at these updates of how we’re putting donations to work.
Supporting women to build strong communities: 2023 reflections
In 2023, Women United members and donors continued their impactful support for thousands of women and girls through investments in grassroots initiatives and community programs across East Ontario.
Community-based care reaching people before their breaking point
United Way East Ontario helped lay the foundation for the Community Development Framework which equips resident leaders to offer mental health resources to vulnerable Ottawa residents before they face a crisis.
Our 2023-24 Annual Report is now live: A message from Dennise Taylor-Gilhen
We invite United Way East Ontario donors and partners to take a moment, read through, and reflect on the work we have accomplished and the impact we were able to achieve this past year.
Frequently asked questions
United Way East Ontario mobilizes the power of caring communities to address the most serious local issues. Here’s how we do it:
- We are convenors: we bring together the right people and organizations across all sectors to conquer complex challenges.
- We are researchers: we use rigorous data analysis and evidence to inform our decisions and understand the diverse challenges our neighbourhoods face.
- We are advocates: we speak up and advocate for action on issues that directly impact our communities—especially for the most vulnerable, whose voices often go unheard.
- We are fundraisers: whether through fundraising, leveraging grants or securing other resources, United Way seeks to attract support where it is needed most for the thousands who depend on us.
- We are investors: our expert volunteers evaluate and make recommendations to fund programs, collaborations and initiatives that create measurable, lasting change.
To follow the money, our current year’s investments can be found here. Past investments can be found in our annual reports, here.
All salaries at United Way, including senior management, are benchmarked against other Canadian non-profit organizations of similar size and scope. United Way East Ontario is in compliance with the required T3010 regulatory reporting to CRA for its executive compensation, which can be viewed on the Canada Revenue Agency’s website.
Charity Intelligence reviews publicly available information on each of the charities it evaluates. This includes everything from audited financial statements to annual reports, tax filings and websites. Each charity is rigorously assessed, and those that make the Top 100 list (that’s us!):
- are leaders in reporting to donors and the public—a good sign of accountability,
- are cost efficient with overhead spending between 5 and 35 per cent,
- need support, and are not holding on to too much funding in reserves, are financially transparent, with two or more years of audited financial statements publicly available.
See more about how Charity Intelligence analyzes charities here.
MoneySense and Maclean’s use data from Charity Intelligence and charity filings with the Canada Revenue Agency to assess charities for their respective lists.
At United Way East Ontario, we tackle the tough problems. When you invest in our work, you’re supporting 100% local initiatives that bring about measurable change for our communities’ most vulnerable people.
We do this by working with local agency partners, multiple levels of government, community stakeholders and thousands of donors, to change lives across Prescott-Russell, Ottawa, Lanark County and Renfrew County. Through research, consultation and analysis, we identify where our communities need help the most and where we can achieve the greatest results.
We mobilize the power of our communities to deliver on outcomes that make life measurably better for local people. We make sure at-risk kids are on track to graduate, seniors are less isolated, people with disabilities and newcomers have job skills and employment, people in crisis and with mental health challenges have access to immediate support, youth housing needs are met, and much more.
Still thinking through those burning United Way questions? Contact us to learn more about our work—we would love to hear from you.
We also send out a monthly newsletter to keep donors informed about how we use donations to make a difference. Subscribe.
