National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Canada is a 0-star charity with Low demonstrated impact. It is not financially transparent. It has an F Results Reporting grade. The charity’s overhead costs are within Ci’s reasonable range, although it reports no fundraising costs. Its reserves can cover program costs for 19 years, which is well outside of Ci’s reasonable range. Please read Ci’s report before you give.

Founded in 1948, National Spiritual Assembly of Baha’is of Canada (NSA) is Canada’s governing body of the Baha’i faith. The religion has existed in Canada since 1898 and there are now over 35,000 members in the country. The charity spent $5.9m on its programs in the fiscal year ending in April (F2023).

Canadian programs received 72% ($4.2m) of program spending in F2023. The charity distributes books and other materials related to the faith to people across Canada. NSA does not report on how most of the money is used. The charity’s website describes its work generally. It mentions it offers spiritual education to children and participates in national public discourse on themes like the role of religion in society but does not provide any details.

International programs received 28% ($1.7m) of program spending in F2023. NSA spends money to maintain the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette, USA. The charity runs a deputization program where Canadian volunteers relocate to another country to teach the Baha’i faith.

National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is is not financially transparent, meaning Ci had to obtain its audited financial statements from the CRA. Its audited financial statements follow line-item costing, which is not a best practice. NSA received $21.0m in donations in F2023, which is 87% of revenue. It received $32k in fees for service and $2.9m in investment income.

NSA spent $4.2m on Canadian programs and $1.7m on international programs in F2023. The total of $5.9m is 24% of revenue. The charity ran a surplus of $16.4m, which is 68% of revenue. It spent $1.8m on administration, which is 9% of revenue, excluding investment income. The charity did not report any fundraising costs. For every dollar donated to the charity, 91 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

NSA has $112.7m in its reserves (cash and investments). These funds can cover program costs for 19 years, which is well outside of Ci’s reasonable range.

The charity had a return on investment (ROI) of 3% in F2023, and as of then it had a 4% five-year average ROI.

NSA shares the same Board of Directors as Baha’i Foundation Canada (BFC) and Association for Baha’i Studies (ABS). It owes $218k to BFC and earned $13k from ABS in rental income in 2023.

Updated on August 13, 2025 by Joshua Leduc. This update has been sent to the charity and changes may be forthcoming.