Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS)
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.
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.
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 Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS):
Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society is a 5-star charity. 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 2006, Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) cares for homeless animals throughout the province. The charity reports that the main reasons animals end up homeless or in shelters are changes in circumstances (divorce, death, new baby), behaviour issues, cost of veterinary care, unregulated breeding operations, full shelters, and lack of pet-friendly housing. AARCS runs programs that help homeless animals in communities across Alberta and provides community support programs that address these root causes of animal overpopulation and homelessness. In 2024, AARCS spent $3.6m on its programs. It did not provide a spending breakdown of its programs.
The Sheltering and Adoption programs provide a home and care for homeless animals. In 2024, AARCS recorded 3,430 adoptions, of which 2,242 were cats, 1,048 were dogs, and 140 were critters. The charity also recorded 519 cat adoptions from partner pet stores (Pet Valu, PetSmart, and Dexter’s). AARCS recorded an intake of 2,306 cats, 1,124 dogs, and 149 critters. In 2024, AARCS humanely euthanized 90 cats, 40 dogs, and seven critters. The charity highlights that it only euthanizes animals to end extreme suffering, not for space or time in care. In the Safe Haven Shelter, AARCS performed 15,411 medical exams, delivered 7,873 vaccines, provided 2,802 spay/neuter surgeries, conducted 417 dental exams, and performed 583 other surgeries.
Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society runs four Community Outreach programs. In 2024, its Pet Food Assistance program fed 4,563 animals. Its Spay/Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) provided free surgeries for 202 dogs and 180 cats. AARCS also provided 339 spay/neuter surgeries in its Trap-Neuter Return program. The charity also helped 156 animals through its Compassionate Care program.
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Results and Impact
In 2024, AARCS facilitated 3,430 adoptions, of which 2,242 were cats, 1,048 were dogs, and 140 were critters. Of the pets adopted, 85 cats were returned (4% return rate), 66 dogs were returned (6% return rate), and one critter was returned (under 1% return rate). The charity reports that return rates vary between 5% and 50% across all organizations.
AARCS also performed 721 free Spay/Neuter surgeries through its TNR and SNAP programs, and 2,802 through its Safe Haven Shelter.
In 2024, AARCS humanely euthanized 90 cats, 40 dogs, and seven critters that were experiencing extreme suffering.
The charity’s Pet Food Assistance program provided food for 4,563 animals in 2024.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society’s results and impact.
This charity is not yet rated on impact. This shows as n/r and does not affect the star rating.
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Finances
Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society’s audited financial statements use activity-based costing, which is a best practice.
AARCS received $4.3m in donations and special events revenue in 2024. The charity also received $974k in adoption and service fees. AARCS spent $3.6m on its programs, which is 66% of revenue, and recorded a surplus of $497k (less capital expenses), which is 9% of revenue.
AARCS spent $535k on fundraising, which is 13% of donations, and $692k on administration, which is 13% 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.
AARCS has $4.3m in reserve funds (cash and investments), which can cover one year and two months of its annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
This charity report is an update that has been sent to Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society for review.
Updated on August 13, 2025 by Liam Chapleau.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending December
|
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 12.8% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 12.5% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| Total overhead spending | 25.2% | 20.4% | 20.5% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 119.1% | 95.0% | 88.9% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 3,839 | 3,859 | 2,658 |
| Goods in kind | 56 | 39 | 10 |
| Government funding | 7 | 52 | 51 |
| Fees for service | 974 | 1,088 | 890 |
| Business activities (net) | 96 | 75 | 92 |
| Special events | 451 | 893 | 862 |
| Investment income | 79 | 69 | 22 |
| Total revenues | 5,503 | 6,075 | 4,586 |
| Program costs | 3,636 | 3,783 | 3,135 |
| Donated goods exp | 56 | 39 | 10 |
| Administrative costs | 692 | 595 | 468 |
| Fundraising costs | 535 | 497 | 360 |
| Total spending | 4,918 | 4,914 | 3,974 |
| Cash flow from operations | 585 | 1,161 | 613 |
| Capital spending | 87 | 154 | 82 |
| Funding reserves | 4,329 | 3,594 | 2,788 |
Note: 1. Deferred Revenue: Ci adjusted for deferred revenue within donations, which affected revenue by $118k in 2024, ($333k) in 2023, and $295k in 2022. 2. Merchandise Expense: Ci reported merchandise revenue net of expenses. This affected revenue and expenses by ($144k) in 2024, ($162k) in 2023, and ($132k) in 2022. 3. Donated Goods: Ci included donated goods received and treated it as a flow through. The amounts were removed from donations on the revenue side and program costs on the expense side.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
0 |
$120k - $160k |
1 |
$80k - $120k |
5 |
$40k - $80k |
4 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2024
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Comment added on August 27, 2025:
The Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) operates an animal shelter and onsite veterinary hospital based in Calgary, offers services throughout the province and collaborates with organizations across the prairies. With over 2,000 volunteers province-wide, the organization is assisting thousands of animals each year through multiple programs aimed at helping both people and pets. This includes helping 3,400 animals into new adoptive homes in 2024 and assisting another 5,400 pets stay in their already loving homes through assistance programs.
Programs include rescue and animal adoption, Spay/Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP), Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), a pet food bank, Compassionate Care (veterinary care) and Animal Disaster Response. AARCS’ dedicated team cares for an average of 500 animals at any given time and relies on a network of volunteers and foster families to assist in caring for the animals.
AARCS is proud to be an animal welfare leader in Alberta with values encompassing kindness for both people and animals, collaboration to serve our communities and a commitment to integrity and compassion. AARCS is a founding member of the Animal Welfare Coalition of Alberta and a voting member of Humane Canada. We embrace a duty of responsible resource stewardship and professionalism. Our dedication to continuous learning and contributing to knowledge-building within the sector exemplifies our goal to remain a leader in animal welfare so that we can improve the lives of animals and build a more empathetic society.
As our leased facility in Calgary ages, we are looking to the future and finding a new, more permanent and purpose-built home for AARCS, while prioritizing strategies that allow us to remain effective in our existing facility. Continuous improvements to reduce length of stay and streamline the journey for each animal from shelter to a forever home, in addition to growing programs that allow us to help animals without overnight sheltering are at the core of our strategic objectives for 2025 and beyond.
Please visit aarcs.ca to learn more, sign up for our newsletter or find us on social media to find out how together, we can achieve a Compassionate World For All Animals.
Learn More:
AARCS 2024 Annual Report
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 403-250-7377