Breakthrough T1D is a 4-star charity. It is financially transparent and has an A results reporting grade which is above average. Its overhead spending is 47% which is not within Ci’s reasonable range. Its reserve funds can cover program costs for six months, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.

Founded in 1970, Breakthrough T1D (BTD), formerly Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Canada, is the leading research and advocacy organization for type 1 diabetes (T1D). It raises money to cure, prevent and treat T1D and increase education of the disease. T1D is a chronic autoimmune disease that stops insulin production, a hormone needed to get energy from food. The charity reports an estimated 300,000 Canadians live with T1D and that this number is growing at 4.4%. Individuals with T1D can face direct costs of $15k per year.

BTD has two programs: Research, and Education and Advocacy. The charity spent $10.7m on Research and $2.4m on Education and Advocacy. It spent a total of $13.1m on its programs and grants in 2024.

Research got 82% of program spending in 2024. It funds T1D research through grants that focus on finding cures and making life easier for T1D patients. BTD gave 67 grants and released 142 T1D research publications in F2024. Its efforts engaged 1,140 researchers.

Education and Advocacy got 18% of program spending in 2024. It aims to advocate for T1D at the federal and provincial levels toward greater research funding and support. BTD conducted 50 meetings with members of parliaments and senators for its Kids for a Cure campaign. It sent 896 emails by advocates to provincial lawmakers. It improved affordable access of T1D devices for 315,405 people.

Breakthrough T1D’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a financial reporting best practice. This means its expenses are clearly defined between program, administrative, and fundraising costs.

BTD received $22.2m in donations in 2024, which is 100% of total revenue. In 2024, it granted $10.3m to research support, which is 46% of total revenue. In 2023, it granted $10.6m to research support, which is 50% of total revenue. In 2024, it recorded a deficit of ($1.2m), meaning it drew on its reserves to fund operations.

BTD spent $7.4m on fundraising costs, which is 33% of donations. It spent $3.0m on administrative costs, which is 13% of revenue. BTD has overhead spending of 47%. For every dollar donated to BTD, 53 cents are available to go to the cause. This is not within Ci’s reasonable range, which is 65-95.

BTD has $6.6m in reserve funds (cash and investments). Its reserve funds can cover 51% or six months of its annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

BTD uses external fundraisers. In 2023, it paid $29k to collect $18k. It costs $1.61 to raise a dollar using external fundraisers ($3.46 in 2022). It is likely more cost efficient to donate directly to the charity.

BTD is committed to grant $4.9m in 2025 to fund T1D research through its partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; $3.6m for its 2017 partnership and $1.3m for its partnership in 2022. Its total outstanding grant commitments are $8.6m due December 2026.

This report is an update that has been sent to Breakthrough T1D for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. Updated on May 29, 2025, by Leah DeFrancesco.