Pathways to Education
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
A+
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
Good
DEMONSTRATED IMPACT
The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.
NEED FOR FUNDING
Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.
75%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 75 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Pathways to Education:
Pathways to Education is a 5-star charity with Good Demonstrated Impact. It has an A+ Results Reporting grade, which is above average. For every dollar donated, 75 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci's reasonable range.
Founded in 2001, Pathways to Education (Pathways) works in communities across Canada to reduce high school dropout rates in low-income areas. Its Pathways to Education program aims to remove barriers to graduation. The Pathways program combines academic, financial, social, and one-on-one support. It offers tutoring, adult role models, and mentoring. The charity also provides financial support through lunch vouchers, transit passes, and scholarships. Pathways reports that 9% of men and 5% of women aged 25 to 34 did not have a high school diploma, which is about 340,000 Canadians. The charity reports that each high school graduate in Ontario saves the provincial government $3,000 per year on social assistance, healthcare, and criminal justice spending. Pathways spent $31.5m on its programs in F2025, per Ci’s calculation.
A Charity Intelligence 2024 Top 10 Impact: Canadian Youth Charities.
In the 2023-2024 school year, there were 31 Pathways program locations across Canada. In the 2024 school year, 9,083 students were enrolled in the Pathways program, of whom 3,722 were in Ontario, 3,053 in Quebec, 606 in British Columbia, 455 in New Brunswick, 420 in Manitoba, 409 in Saskatchewan, 286 in Nova Scotia, and 133 in Alberta. In F2025, Pathways piloted Connex, a platform to support student registration and caseload assignment, at 11 of its 31 locations. The charity plans to expand Connex to all its locations over the next two years.
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Results and Impact
In the 2023-2024 school year, the average graduation rate in the communities that Pathways served was 79%. 69% of Pathways graduates transitioned to post-secondary education or training in the 2023-2024 school year.
Pathways to Education reports that its program delivers a social return of $24 on every dollar invested.
In 2019, the National Bureau of Economic Research released a study on the long-term benefits of the Pathways program. The study found that the annual income of Pathways graduates increased by 19% compared to their peers and the employment rate of graduates increased by 14% compared to their peers. Graduates also experienced a reduced reliance on social assistance by more than a third.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Pathways to Education’s results and impact.
Charity Intelligence has rated Pathways to Education as Good impact based on demonstrated social impact per dollar spent.
A Charity Intelligence 2024 Top 10 Impact: Canadian Youth Charities.
Impact Rating: Good
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Finances
Pathways to Education’s audited financial statements use line-item costing, which is not a best practice. Ci used the charity’s annual report to report administrative, fundraising, and program costs for F2025, as the charity’s F2025 T3010 filing with the CRA was not yet available at the time of this update. Overhead spending may be understated for F2025.
Pathways to Education received $13.5m in donations in F2025 and $22.3m in government funding, which is 67% of revenue. The charity spent $31.5m on its programs, which is 94% of revenue, and recorded a deficit of $4.2m.
Pathways spent $1.5m on fundraising, which is 11% of donations, and $4.5m on administration, which is 14% of revenue (excluding investment income). Total overhead spending is 25%. For every dollar donated, 75 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.
Pathways has $14.6m in reserve funds (cash and investments). These reserves can cover annual program costs for five months. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
Ci included the change in deferred revenue within other income as the charity did not disclose the source of this revenue. As the charity recognized more revenue than it received, other income shows as negative.
This charity report is an update that has been sent to Pathways to Education for review.
Updated on August 20, 2025 by Liam Chapleau.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending March
|
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 13.7% | 9.8% | 10.1% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 11.2% | 17.7% | 22.5% |
| Total overhead spending | 24.8% | 27.5% | 32.6% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 46.4% | 58.5% | 72.7% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 13,458 | 18,694 | 14,685 |
| Government funding | 22,257 | 21,518 | 22,732 |
| Investment income | 466 | 892 | 844 |
| Other income | (2,824) | (6,719) | (5,231) |
| Total revenues | 33,357 | 34,385 | 33,031 |
| Program costs | 31,510 | 32,235 | 31,663 |
| Administrative costs | 4,501 | 3,295 | 3,250 |
| Fundraising costs | 1,500 | 3,303 | 3,303 |
| Total spending | 37,512 | 38,833 | 38,216 |
| Cash flow from operations | (4,156) | (4,448) | (5,185) |
| Capital spending | 451 | 717 | 0 |
| Funding reserves | 14,625 | 18,872 | 23,021 |
Note: 1. Deferred Revenue: Ci included deferred revenue within other revenue as the charity did not disclose the source. This affected revenue by ($2.8m) in F2025, ($6.7m) in F2024, and ($5.2m) in F2023.
Salary Information
$350k + |
1 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
1 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
2 |
$120k - $160k |
6 |
$80k - $120k |
0 |
$40k - $80k |
0 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2024
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Pathways to Education added the following comment February 2025.
Pathways to Education is a national, charitable organization breaking the cycle of poverty through education. Its award-winning program, the Pathways Program, supports young people living in low-income communities to overcome barriers to education, graduate from high school, and build the foundation for a successful future. We are proud to be at the forefront of shifting the paradigm for low-income communities and improving social and economic outcomes across the country.
Pathways is proud to be evaluated by Charity Intelligence, which helps donors make informed giving decisions that make the greatest impact. We remain committed to stewarding the financial resources entrusted to us, providing transparent, evidence-driven results, and expanding opportunities to serve more youth across the country
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 416-646-0123