Are fundraising events a good use of money?

Events often have high costs relative to what they raise, but they also recruit new donors and volunteers. Read the charity's own account of why it runs them.

Is fundraising the same as administration?

No. Administration is line 5010: governance, finance, HR, rent for head office. Fundraising is line 5020. Charity Compass adds them for the overhead ratio and names both lines.

How much do Canadian charities spend on fundraising?

Fundraising is reported on T3010 line 5020 and covers the cost of raising money: staff, campaigns, events, mailings and online platforms. It is one of the two parts of the overhead ratio, whose F2024 median across Canadian operating charities is 12%, and it varies widely with how a charity is funded.

Why it varies so much

A charity funded mostly by government contracts spends little to raise money. One funded by individual donors must ask for it, and asking costs money. In the F2024 data the median operating charity gets 21% of revenue from receipted donations and 0% from government, and 20% are majority government-funded. Compare fundraising costs between charities with similar funding models.

The CRA's view

The CRA's fundraising guidance treats a fundraising-to-revenue ratio under 35% as unlikely to raise concerns, 35% to 70% as prompting a closer look at the reasons, and over 70% as needing justification. Those are review thresholds for the regulator, not donor grades.

What Charity Compass shows

Fundraising is combined with management and administration into the overhead figure on every card, with the T3010 lines named so you can separate them on the public record. Charities that report no fundraising cost at all are common and usually reflect how the return was filled in rather than free fundraising.

Common questions

Are fundraising events a good use of money?: Events often have high costs relative to what they raise, but they also recruit new donors and volunteers. Read the charity's own account of why it runs them.
Is fundraising the same as administration?: No. Administration is line 5010: governance, finance, HR, rent for head office. Fundraising is line 5020. Charity Compass adds them for the overhead ratio and names both lines.

Figures: CRA List of Charities open data, F2024 release, computed across 72,356 operating charities where the lines exist · self-reported by each charity · last reviewed 2026-09-15. Charity Compass is not affiliated with the CRA or Charity Intelligence.