FRIENDS OF THE DOMINION ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY SOCIETY
Charitable organizationSupport of schools and education·1252 STANCIL LANE · VICTORIA, BC · V8Z 1R5·BN 818572968RR0001
Last reported: F2024 filing · period ending 2024-09-30
Cents to cause T1
89¢
of each dollar spent, to programs
Operating overhead T1
11%
typical range 5–35%
Reserves T1
0.4 yr
of program spending, in cash and investments
Revenue T1
$153K
not reviewed by an analyst (Charity Intelligence)
— means the filing doesn't include the lines needed; details and sources below.·How to read these figures
Common questions
How do I donate to Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Society?
You can search for it on CanadaHelps to donate. Charity Compass never handles your money — we only link out to where you can give.
Is Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Society a registered charity?
Per CRA records, it filed a F2024 T3010 return under charity number 818572968RR0001. Registration status can change, so check the CRA charities listing for its current status. Only a currently registered charity can issue an official donation receipt.
Where is Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Society located?
Per its F2024 T3010, its address on file is 1252 STANCIL LANE, VICTORIA, BC, V8Z 1R5. Source.
What does Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Society do?
In its own words, from its F2024 T3010 filing: "Saturday Star Parties started in January with monthly events. They became bi-weekly in May and weekly for July. August and part of September continuing monthly for the rest of the calendar year. They included guest speakers on astronomical topics education about the night sky during the month. These 'live' star…" Full program description.
How much of Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Society's spending goes to programs?T1
Per its F2024 T3010, 89¢ of each dollar it spent went to programs (self-reported, not independently verified). Full figures.
How big is Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Society?T1
Its last-reported revenue was $153K (F2024), which places it in Charity Compass's under $1M revenue band, alongside 27,629 other operating charities.
What it does — in its own words
Ongoing programs
Saturday Star Parties started in January with monthly events. They became bi-weekly in May and weekly for July. August and part of September continuing monthly for the rest of the calendar year. They included guest speakers on astronomical topics education about the night sky during the month. These 'live' star parties included tours of the Plaskett Dome guest speakers planetarium shows and special childrens' tours. The Visitors' Centre itself was open to the public Tues-Sat from early July to the end of September and then on Saturdays for the rest of the year. School Student Tours t… Show more
Saturday Star Parties started in January with monthly events. They became bi-weekly in May and weekly for July. August and part of September continuing monthly for the rest of the calendar year. They included guest speakers on astronomical topics education about the night sky during the month. These 'live' star parties included tours of the Plaskett Dome guest speakers planetarium shows and special childrens' tours. The Visitors' Centre itself was open to the public Tues-Sat from early July to the end of September and then on Saturdays for the rest of the year. School Student Tours took place during the school year from September 2023 to June 2024 Private tours for groups of size 10 to as many as 84 took place throughout the year. Revenues from private tours increase by more than 50% End of Year Pancake Event attracted families in starting in December 2023
New programs
This year the centre started to be open for at least one star party every month and Saturday daytimes venturing for the first year into all year operation. The partial (in Victoria) solar eclipses of October 2023 and April 2024 were well-attended events.
Program descriptions from its F2024 T3010 filing, verbatim · self-reported · this is also the text our semantic search matches against. source ↗
Tier 1 — what we computed (open data)
From the charity's own F2024 T3010 filing. Self-reported; not independently verified. You can recompute every figure. New to these terms? Read what cents to the cause, overhead and reserves mean.
89¢
Per its F2024 T3010, 89¢ of each dollar spent went to programs. The rest ran the organization and raised money; higher is not automatically better.
Sector median: 89¢ across 55,155 computed charities; 89¢ among those its size (under $1M).
this charity 89¢ · sector median 89¢ · all 55,155 computed charities
T3010 line 5000 ÷ 4950 · Self-reported on the T3010; not independently verified. source ↗ · what this means
11%
Management, administration, and fundraising as a share of total spending. We treat 5–35% as the typical range; we state the figure, you judge.
T3010 line (5010 + 5020) ÷ 4950 · Self-reported on the T3010; not independently verified. source ↗ · what this means
0.4 yr
Years that cash, bank balances and investments on hand could cover program spending; liabilities and restricted funds are not netted out.
Charities its size (under $1M, 27,629): median 1 yr; 14% hold under half a year. All operating charities: median 0.8 yr.
T3010 line (4100 + 4140) ÷ 5000 · Self-reported on the T3010; not independently verified. source ↗ · what this means
Total revenue
T1 · computed (open data)$153K
Last-reported total revenue.
T3010 line 4700 · Self-reported on the T3010; not independently verified. source ↗
Donor-funded
T1 · computed (open data)10%
Share of revenue from receipted donations.
T3010 line 4500 ÷ 4700 · Self-reported on the T3010; not independently verified. source ↗
0%
Share of revenue from federal, provincial, and municipal sources.
T3010 line 4570 (or 4540+4550+4560) ÷ 4700 · Self-reported on the T3010; not independently verified. source ↗ · what this means
Where the money comes from
Shares of last-reported revenue, per its F2024 T3010. Self-reported; not independently verified.
Receipted donationsT1
10%
T3010 4500 ÷ 4700
GovernmentT1
0%
T3010 4570 (or 4540+4550+4560) ÷ 4700
Other revenueT1
90%
T3010 remainder ÷ 4700
Self-reported on the T3010; not independently verified. source ↗
Over the years
Every figure as filed at each fiscal period end, 2019–2024.
| Period end | Revenue | Cents to cause | Overhead | Reserves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-05-31 | $89K | 90¢ | 10% | — |
| 2020-05-31 | $64K | 83¢ | 17% | — |
| 2020-09-30 | $17K | 100¢ | 0% | — |
| 2021-09-30 | $59K | 93¢ | 7% | — |
| 2022-09-30 | $71K | 87¢ | 9% | — |
| 2023-09-30 | $108K | — | — | — |
| 2024-09-30 | $153K | 89¢ | 11% | 0.4 yr |
| trend |
Swipe sideways to see every column.
From its T3010 filings (CRA annual releases) · self-reported, not audited by us · when a period is restated in a later release, the newest figures are shown · ✱ = cents-to-cause outside the valid 0–100% range (filing error; not used in rankings). source ↗
★ Tier 2 — Charity Intelligence (analyst-reviewed)
Not rated by Charity Intelligence. Their analysts cover 819 of Canada's 83,761 charities; absence of a rating says nothing about this charity. Our computed figures above stand on their own.
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Same CRA category, revenue within 20× of this one, and the closest program descriptions in their own filings. A shortlist to compare, not a ranking.
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Figures per each charity's F2024 T3010 · self-reported, not audited by us · ✱= that filing's expense lines don't reconcile · open a profile for sources and caveats.
Board of directors
11 directors reported · 10 of 11at arm's length
- Archer, Amy AVice-Chairarm's length
- Skalitzky, Stephanie SMember-at-Largearm's length
- Dorman, BenjaminChairarm's length
- Roche, Laura Marm's length
- McDonald, Robert Carm's length
- von Schuckmann, Ida Farm's length
- Gilbert-Sturm, Patricia DSecretaryarm's length
- Crabtree, Dennis RMember-at-Largearm's length
- Johnston, BrockMember-at-Largearm's length
- Hewlett, LorraineMember-at-Largearm's length
- Pedersen, Kirsten STreasurer
From its F2024T3010 filing (public CRA record), as filed. “Arm's length” means not related to other officials by family or business ties. source ↗
Right of reply
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Verify everything: full public record on CharityData.ca ↗ · CRA charities listing ↗