Each of the eight foundations attached to Canada's NHL, NBA and MLB teams were recently evaluated by Charity Intelligence Canada (CIC). It found while the foundations are all quite successful at raising funds, they get poor marks for financial transparency, hoarding cash and over-spending on fundraising; based on analysis of their financial statements of the past three fiscal years.
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It found, for example, that for each dollar raised by the Calgary Flames Foundation only 30 cents goes to a charitable cause. On the high end, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment — owner of the Leafs and the Raptors — and the Vancouver Canucks for Kids Fund are in line with other charities, in the 70-cents range.
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So this metric of only looking at how much per dollar is used for charity versus costs is a terrible way of measuring this work. Clearly, transparency is huge and you have to look carefully at charities, so the video below should be a must watch if you care about this issue.
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Par for the course for this greedy ownership group
See, this is the thing: They cant keep it.
So I find it odd that they'd have this large reserve. Usually this would only happen if they're saving up for some huge (inevitably charitable) expenditure.
The owners cant just dip into it for whatever they want. Its not Flames' ownership thats hoarding this cash, however, holding a large cash reserve is not outwardly 'charitable' in the strictest sense of the term.
One question I would ask is: what would their per-dollar ratio go to if they were donating this reserve instead of holding it?
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So this metric of only looking at how much per dollar is used for charity versus costs is a terrible way of measuring this work. Clearly, transparency is huge and you have to look carefully at charities, so the video below should be a must watch if you care about this issue.
I have heard this before and it’s a good discussion with one of the primary points that a charity should be run like a business. But IMO it’s not quite as applicable to a foundation such as this which exists solely because of the CSEC.
How effective are the fundraising efforts? For example do they raise similar funds to say the Jets foundation, yet spend more in doing so? What is the reason for all the reserve funds? What kind of costs do the Foundation bear, vs. the CSEC?
There may be good answers to these questions and the CBC article makes no effort to answer them.
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Whatever...I know of multiple programs in Calgary that can't even run without the Flames contributions...there are likely ways to improve but it's not like ownership is pocketing the money. Also, this is an article from one side...need more info before calling anyone greedy.
Guess this place was too positive for the last couple days
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Whatever...I know of multiple programs in Calgary that can't even run without the Flames contributions...there are likely ways to improve but it's not like ownership is pocketing the money. Also, this is an article from one side...need more info before calling anyone greedy.
Guess this place was too positive for the last couple days
Maybe it would be better to swap out Flames Foundation for United Way and the Flames just be a contributor to United Way. Much more efficient use of those funds and they are good at distributing the $. Those programs would be better off in that case.
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So this metric of only looking at how much per dollar is used for charity versus costs is a terrible way of measuring this work. Clearly, transparency is huge and you have to look carefully at charities, so the video below should be a must watch if you care about this issue.
You really need to question whether the dollar would have been donated without the spending.
Do charities spend money to raise funds just cannibalize each other and are really competing for the same charitable dollars or does spending money on fundraising increase the total pie of money available for all charities by an amount greater than the amount raised.
For me the high water fund raising bench mark is the united way and until other organizations can match their metrics on Dollars spent for dollar raised we should be scrutinizing them.
Things like the flames golf tournament look poor in the dollars per dollar metric but that event is unique enough that it likely isn't cannibalizing other charity dollars
Yeesh, that's embarressing... 30 cents on the dollar. Who's in charge of the foundation?
Again....because they've been stuffing cash into a reserve fund rather than donating it. They may have a large plan for that cash, perhaps a number of scholarships, I dont know.
Admittedly thats a large reserve for a charity to be holding, but again, its not like its the Flames' Ownership's personal 'Hookers and Blow Fund.'
It will eventually be donated or directed into some sort of charitable endeavour, but their holding it in reserve skews the information used to arrive at that $0.30 ratio.
Its still unusual to have a reserve that large.
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Very unfortunate the disenchantment I've had towards the Flames over the last couple years. Edwards, the arena, Bill Smith, so it's not surprising about this. But a lack of transparency and 0.30 for every dollar going to charitable causes? Other charities would be racked over the coals for that, not sure why the Flames foundation should be any different.
Pro sports charities hoarding cash, overspending on fundraising, (Flames worst)
