Ecotrust Canada is a 5-star charity that is financially transparent. It has an above-average results reporting grade of A and reasonable overhead spending of 20%. Ecotrust has reserve funds that can cover program costs for one year and three months.

Founded in 1995, Ecotrust Canada (Ecotrust) runs programs to build sustainable economies in Canada. The charity works with rural, remote, and Indigenous communities to develop methods of improving sustainability. Ecotrust runs five main programs, listed below. The charity spent $3.8m on its programs in 2024.

A Charity Intelligence 2024 Top 100 Rated Charity.

Community Fisheries received 48% ($1.7m) of program spending in 2024. Ecotrust reports that from 2010 to 2022 the commercial fishing GDP declined by 38%. Ecotrust trained 28 local people to deliver fisheries monitoring and data collection services in 2024. It reports this supported more than 500 fish harvesters. The charity wrote four media articles about fishery policy issues and had 16 meetings with politicians in Ottawa. Ecotrust runs a global online database called Spyglass that tracks criminal fishing activities. It reports there were 9,000 data entries in Spyglass in 2024. Ecotrust reports that in total, it directly affected 13,036 people in 2024 through this program.

Community Energy received 19% ($669k) of program spending in 2024. Ecotrust reports that over 210,000 households in BC do not have affordable access to basic energy services. The charity installed 74 heat pumps in 2024. It also launched its Home Energy Savings Program (HESP) in 2024. HESP helps people complete home energy-saving renovations. Ecotrust provided 35 homeowners with complete renovations and helped 120 others do renovations as well. The charity reports that in total, this program directly affected 6,398 people in 2024.

Climate Resilience received 14% ($490k) of program spending in 2024. Ecotrust works with Indigenous communities to preserve land affected by industrial development. The charity reports it helped three Indigenous groups submit Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund grant applications in 2024. It also had five meetings to discuss the development of its greenhouse gas calculator tool. Ecotrust reports that in total, this program directly affected 9,860 people in 2024.

Food Systems received 12% ($412k) of program spending in 2024. Ecotrust states that one in seven households in northern BC experience food insecurity. The charity delivered 300 pounds of vegetables to the Prince Rupert School Lunch Program in 2024. It also reports that it distributed 12,000 scallops to Metlakatla community members. Ecotrust reports that in total, this program directly affected 300 people in 2024.

Indigenous Homelands received 7% ($261k) of program spending in 2024. Ecotrust states that 17% of Indigenous people have inadequate housing, compared to 6% of non-Indigenous people. Its Indigenous Housing and Homelands Governance Toolkit helps Indigenous people develop housing solutions. The charity reports that 3,700 people accessed the Toolkit in 2024.

Ecotrust also reports spending $328k on its learning agenda in 2024. The charity states in its strategic plan that the learning agenda is its way of evaluating its impact.

Ecotrust’s audited financial statements follow line-item costing, which is not a best practice. Ci referred to the program spending breakdown in the charity’s annual report to report program, administrative, and fundraising costs.

In 2024 Ecotrust received $1.8m in Canadian donations and $694k in international donations. It also received $534k in government funding, which is 10% of total revenue. The charity received $2.3m in consulting fees for service, which is 42% of total revenue.

Administrative costs are 13% of revenues (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 7% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 20%. For every dollar donated, 80 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

In 2024 Ecotrust spent $3.8m on its programs, which is 69% of its revenue. In 2024 it had a surplus of $905k, which is 16% of its revenue.

Ecotrust has $4.8m in reserve funds (cash and investments). The reserves can cover 127%, or one year and three months of program costs.

This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to Ecotrust Canada. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on July 14, 2025, by Grady Simpson.