CBCF - CanadaHelps

This charity has a very extensive online presence and is one of the most prominent cancer charities in Canada. For this blog post, I decided to focus on a foundation I was familiar with, and analyze the effectiveness of The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s online fundraising tactics and how they are using Canadahelps.org and other online platforms to leverage their cause nationwide.

The Foundation was established in 1986 and has been a leader in raising awareness nationwide to the fight against breast cancer. They are now one of the leading organizations in Canada devoted to establishing a future without breast cancer. The Foundation has four regional offices in BC/Yukon, Prairies/NWT, Ontario and the Atlan​tic Region, allowing to better serve the needs of Canadians.

The Foundation’s website provides visitors with comprehensive financial information, displaying where their donations come from and how they spend their dollars responsibly.

They also publish their audited financial statements from the past four years. Within the 2011 statement, The Foundation’s annual revenues were  $54,601,285 with $12,167,835. Donations (individual, direct response, corporate) accounted for nearly 25 per cent of their total 2011 revenue. It is unclear how much of these donations is directly attributed to online fundraising efforts.

The Foundation has an extensive online presence and is constantly on the cutting edge of implementing new fundraising methods. Their facebook page has 43, 288 likes and their twitter has 4,906 followers. They’ve incorporated many ways to help the Foundation, including a ‘donate’ link directly on their page, which sends you to their Run for the Cure donation page. This page allows the donor to give any denomination they want. They’ve also incorporated new strategies into their fundraising campaign including an email signature and a facebook fundraising app for Run for the Cure participants. These are great ways of continually garnering exposure and effectively getting the participants involved in their cause.

The Foundation is also listed on the Canadahelps.org website. CanadaHelps was established to make fundraising simple. They currently have over 12,000 charities accepting donations through their site.  CanadaHelps keeps a minimum fee of a 3.9 per cent on each donation, which is deducted from the donation before being distributed to the charity. CanadaHelps only accepts charities with registration numbers and issues tax receipts directly following the completion of a donation.

The Foundation’s charity profile lists their mission statement and a brief description of the charity; there is also some contact information and website address, if necessary. Visitors are able to make a one-time donation to the cause, or set up a monthly donation through a secured service. The Foundation has also adopted the Imagine Canada Ethical Code, which states, “The Ethical Fundraising and Financial Accountability Code (Ethical Code) lays out a set of standards for charitable organizations to manage and report their financial affairs responsibly.“ (Imagine Canada, 2012). The Foundation is also listed on the Charity Focus website, powered by Imagine Canada. This adds to the Foundation’s credibility by showing donors they’re responsible with their finances and the donations they receive.

I believe The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation has established itself as a credible and honest charity and laid the groundwork to continue their effective fundraising campaigns through various online mediums. They have continually implemented progressive fundraising initiatives through social media and other online forums. It gives the donor piece of mind when they know their donation is funding a worthy program. 


On Sunday, September 30, I will be running for my mom and my grandmas.

-CP