BC Cancer Foundation
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.
B
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.
74%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 74 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About BC Cancer Foundation:
BC Cancer Foundation is a 3-star rated charity with an average results reporting grade. The charity is financially transparent and has reserve funds that can cover six years and eight months of its annual program costs.
Founded in 1935, BC Cancer Foundation (BCCF) raises money for BC Cancer. The charity states that 80,000 people in BC live with cancer. It also states that one in two British Columbians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. BC Cancer runs six regional cancer centres in Abbotsford, Kelowna, Prince George, Surrey, Vancouver, and Victoria. These centres provide comprehensive cancer care to those in BC. BC Cancer also researches various types of cancer.
BCCF granted $75.2m to BC Cancer in F2025. When considering deferred grants to be paid in future years, BCCF gave $62.9m in F2025. These grants fund research, patient services, and equipment and capital purchases.
The Research and Education program received 62% ($46.8m) of program spending in F2025. BCCF states that BC Cancer has over 380 active clinical trials. The charity states that over that 800 patients participated in trials in 2025. BCCF reports its support aided the collection of blood from 398 patients with Triple Negative Breast Cancer. It also reports that BC Cancer has 349 researchers and 727 research trainees, with the majority part of the L.J. Blackmore Cancer Research Centre.
The Enhancements to Patient Care program received 22% ($16.6m) of program spending in F2025. Its Patient Relief Fund helps cancer patients overcome geographical, cultural, and financial barriers that make accessing care difficult. A portion of the fund goes directly to Indigenous patients to help them navigate the cancer care system. BCCF reports that its funding led to Abbotsford opening two new advanced cancer care programs in F2025. It reports this expands essential services for patients in the Fraser region.
The Equipment and Capital Projects program received 16% ($11.8m) of program spending in F2025. BCCF funds the purchase of essential equipment for cancer research. Its grants also fund investment in larger capital projects such as new buildings. BCCF funding helped establish the Kelowna Research and Development Hub in F2025. It reports this hub will bring together 20 researchers to explore more precise and less invasive cancer treatments. It also announced that four new BC Cancer centres are in development and will open by 2030. These centres will be in Surrey, Kamloops, Burnaby, and Nanaimo.
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Results and Impact
A BCCF funded study published in October 2024 looked at lung metastasis, where cancer spreads from another part of the body to the lungs. BCCF reports that a new compound (an eIF4A1 inhibitor) used in the study reduced lung metastasis in mice by over 90%. The charity reports that the research team is now in talks to bring this discovery to human trials.
BC Cancer Foundation reports that it funded BC Cancer’s first CART-T clinical trial for leukemia and lymphoma. 43% of participants had all signs of their cancer disappear after treatment. The charity reports that two years later, many are cancer free without signs of relapse.
In 2022, BC Cancer implemented Canada’s first provincial lung cancer screening program for high-risk people. Since implementation, BCCF reports the screening has detected 74% of participants' lung cancers at an earlier, more treatable stage. BCCF reports that it provided almost $2m in funding support for this screening program.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not completely represent BC Cancer Foundation’s results and impact.
Charity Intelligence has not yet rated BCCF on impact (n/r). This does not affect the star rating.
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Finances
BC Cancer Foundation’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a best practice. Its expenses are clearly defined between program, administrative, and fundraising categories.
In F2025 BCCF received $78.9m in donations and special events fundraising, a 27% increase from F2024. Administrative costs are 10% of revenues (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 16% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 26%. For every dollar donated, 74 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.
In F2025 BCCF spent $62.9m on its grants, a 57% increase from F2024. Its grant spending was 54% of its revenue. In F2025 it had a surplus of $32.5m, which is 28% of its revenue.
BCCF has $477.2m in reserve funds (cash and investments). Excluding $86.7m in donor-endowed funds, the net funding reserves can cover 667%, or six years and eight months of program costs. In F2025, BCCF’s return on investment was 7%. Its five-year annual return on investment is 7%.
BCCF’s most recent T3010 filing at the time of this update was from F2024. In F2024, BCCF paid external fundraisers $1.0m who collected $3.5m in donations. This means it cost BCCF 29 cents to raise $1 using external fundraisers. It is likely more cost efficient to directly donate to the charity.
This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to BC Cancer Foundation. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.
Updated on July 24, 2025, by Grady Simpson.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending March
|
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 9.9% | 11.7% | 2.9% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 16.4% | 20.0% | 15.7% |
| Total overhead spending | 26.3% | 31.7% | 18.7% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 666.8% | 1,001.4% | 903.7% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 71,083 | 53,720 | 56,198 |
| Government funding | 0 | 0 | 150,000 |
| Special events | 7,779 | 8,259 | 7,296 |
| Investment income | 34,309 | 35,035 | 7,761 |
| Other income | 3,222 | 1,077 | 1,030 |
| Total revenues | 116,393 | 98,091 | 222,285 |
| Program costs | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grants | 62,894 | 40,150 | 41,814 |
| Administrative costs | 8,089 | 7,359 | 6,315 |
| Fundraising costs | 12,931 | 12,394 | 9,975 |
| Total spending | 83,914 | 59,903 | 58,104 |
| Cash flow from operations | 32,479 | 38,188 | 164,181 |
| Capital spending | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Funding reserves | 477,173 | 444,443 | 407,267 |
Note: Unrealized gain (loss): Ci included unrealized gain (loss) under investment income. This affected revenues by $3.9m in F2025, $13.1m in F2024, and ($4.0m) in F2023. Change in accounts payable to BC Cancer: Ci adjusted for change in accounts payable to BC Cancer. This affected expenses by ($12.3m) in F2025, ($3.8m) in F2024, and ($2.5m) in F2023.
Salary Information
$350k + |
2 |
$300k - $350k |
1 |
$250k - $300k |
2 |
$200k - $250k |
1 |
$160k - $200k |
3 |
$120k - $160k |
1 |
$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
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