Cape Breton University
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.
C+
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
n/r
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.
87%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 87 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Cape Breton University:
Cape Breton University is a 3-star charity. It has a C+ Results Reporting grade, which is below average. Its overhead costs are within Ci’s reasonable range; however, the charity does not report fundraising costs. The charity’s reserves can cover program costs for just under two years and ten months, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.
In 1974, the Sydney Campus of Saint Francis Xavier University and Nova Scotia Eastern Institute of Technology combined to establish Cape Breton University (CBU). It offers undergraduate and graduate programs to around 7,000 students. The charity works in two areas: academics and research. It spent $110.9m on its programs in the fiscal year ending in March (F2025). CBU did not break down its spending between academics and research.
CBU’s academics includes five schools: the Schools of Arts and Social Sciences, Nursing, Business, Education and Health, and Science and Technology. It has 24 programs in Arts and Social Sciences, 12 in Business, 10 in Education and Health, 10 in Science and Technology, and one in Nursing.
The charity does research in various fields. CBU currently employs eight research chairs.
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Results and Impact
An assistant professor in CBU’s School of Nursing worked on a research project titled Reducing Healthcare Provider Mental Illness Stigma to Achieve Health Equity, Provider Well-Being, and Patient Satisfaction in a Rural Indigenous Population. The project found that educating healthcare providers about mental illness stigma improved mental health assessments, treatments and patient satisfaction. After educating healthcare workers, mental health assessments increased from 29% to 80%, treatment rates improved from 24% to 70%, and stigma measured by OMS-HC scores, decreased from 53 to 43. While Ci highlights these results, they may not completely reflect CBU’s results and impact.
Cape Breton University is not yet rated on impact (n/r). This does not affect the star rating.
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Finances
CBU’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a best practice. However, it does not report any fundraising costs. The charity received $10.8m in donations in F2025, which is 6% of revenue. It received $36.0m in government funding, $95.8m in fees for service, and $15.4m in investment income.
CBU spent $110.9m on its programs, which is 64% of revenue. It ran a surplus of $41.5m, which is 24% of revenue. The charity spent $19.7m on administration, which is 13% of revenue (less investment income) and it did not report any fundraising costs. For every dollar donated to the charity, 87 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
The charity has $313.9m in its reserves (cash and investments), which can cover program costs for almost two years and ten months. This is within Ci’s reasonable range. CBU’s financial statements mention an associated foundation, but it does not provide the charity registration number. Ci could not find the foundation’s financials, so it may have more reserves than Ci presents.
CBU has committed $265.5m to the following capital projects: Medical Campus, Marconi Health Clinic, Centre for Discovery/Innovation, Kehoe Forum refit, and Nova Scotia Power Lines Relocation.
Updated on July 15, 2025 by Joshua Leduc. This update has been sent to the charity and changes may be forthcoming.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending March
|
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 12.6% | 11.7% | 6.3% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Total overhead spending | 12.6% | 11.7% | 6.3% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 283.0% | 315.7% | 318.2% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 10,844 | 8,579 | 2,078 |
| Government funding | 36,021 | 31,803 | 147,947 |
| Fees for service | 95,750 | 118,975 | 89,116 |
| Business activities (net) | 439 | 837 | 536 |
| Investment income | 15,437 | 18,080 | 9,333 |
| Other income | 13,611 | 25,013 | 11,755 |
| Total revenues | 172,102 | 203,287 | 260,765 |
| Program costs | 110,912 | 106,632 | 86,431 |
| Administrative costs | 19,697 | 21,638 | 15,763 |
| Fundraising costs | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other costs | (21) | 150 | (408) |
| Total spending | 130,587 | 128,420 | 101,785 |
| Cash flow from operations | 41,515 | 74,868 | 158,980 |
| Capital spending | 62,372 | 34,330 | 10,504 |
| Funding reserves | 313,876 | 336,661 | 321,733 |
Note: 1. Ci adjusted for deferred revenue, which affected revenue by ($6.0m) in F2025, $11.8m in F2024, and $4.7m in F2023. 2. Ci adjusted for deferred government funding, which affected government funding by $8.9m in F2025, $564k in F2024, and $126.5m in F2023. 3. Ci adjusted for government grants receivable, which affected government funding by ($4.4m) in F2025, $1.5m in F2024, and ($7.5m) in F2023. 4. Ci included grants from CBU Foundation, which affected revenue by $750k in F2025, $500k in F2024, and $500k in F2023. 5. Ci included endowment contributions, which affected donations by $1.1m in F2025, $2.3m in F2024, and $807k in F2023. 6. Ci included contributions for capital assets, which affected donations by $7.1m in F2025, $3.9m in F2024, and $244k in F2023. 7. Ci did not include amortization of deferred capital contributions, which affected donations by ($2.8m) in F2025, ($2.3m) in F2024, and ($1.9m) in F2023. 8. Ci included business revenue net of expenses, which affected revenue and expenses by ($2.7m) in F2025, ($2.4m) in F2024, and ($2.2m) in F2023.
Salary Information
$350k + |
1 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
2 |
$200k - $250k |
6 |
$160k - $200k |
1 |
$120k - $160k |
0 |
$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:
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 902-563-1136