Athabasca University
Publicly funded institution · Athabasca, Alberta · BN 106735830RR0001 · Teaching Institutions · website
Source: T3010 return, FPE 2024-03-31. Split of total expenditures ($154,509,457) as filed with the CRA.
Athabasca University is a charitable organization based in Athabasca, Alberta, classified by the CRA under teaching institutions. It appears on the charity register the way hospitals, universities, and other publicly funded bodies do — to issue tax receipts — rather than as a donation-driven charity in the usual sense. In its fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, it reported $158.6M in revenue and $154.5M in expenditures.
Its funding that year was roughly 32% from government. In 2024, 14 other registered charities reported granting it a combined $242K.
Compared with 733 education institutions of similar size, its share of spending on mission — charitable programs plus grants to other charities — ranked above 34% of peers. Its fundraising cost per donated dollar was higher than 80% of that peer group. Its highest-paid positions fell in the $350,000 and over range (3 positions in that band). The charity reported 721 permanent full-time positions.
It reported gifts to 2 qualified donees totalling $5,100 in 2024, the largest being $5,000 to Athabasca Good Samaritan Ministries Association. Its filed list of directors and trustees shows 17 names.
In its own words
Provision of distance education at the University level.
Ongoing-program description from its T3010 filing, verbatim.
The ledger, 2020–2024
| Year | Revenue | Spending | Programs | Fundraising | Gifts out | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $158.6M | $154.5M | $131.3M | $292K | $9,000 | $56.3M |
| 2023 | $155.6M | $152.5M | $135.6M | $253K | $13K | $49.7M |
| 2022 | $160.9M | $150.6M | $132.8M | $257K | $190K | $47.6M |
| 2021 | $159.1M | $157.6M | $136.4M | $276K | — | $38.4M |
| 2020 | $150.7M | $147.6M | $145.1M | $345K | — | $31.2M |
Revenue printed in red where the year ran a deficit. Fiscal years by period end.
Money between charities, 2024
Granted $5,100 to 2 qualified donees:
Received $242K from 14 charities:
- The Calgary Foundation$99K
- Cpa Education Foundation$96K
- Canadahelps Canadon$13K
- Walker Wood Foundation$10K
- William S. Herron Family Charitable Foundation$8,000
- Hamilton Community Foundation$3,000
- The Community Foundation of Nova Scotia Society$2,217
- The Winkler Community Foundation Inc.$2,000
- Vancity Community Foundation$2,000
- Abc Benefits Corporation Foundation$2,000
- Abc Benefits Corporation Foundation$1,500
- Northwestern Alberta Foundation$1,490
- Oakville Community Foundation$1,000
- Canadian Online Giving Foundation$575
As reported on the donors’ own T3010 qualified-donee schedules.
What it pays
Its ten highest-paid positions, by band:
- $350,000 and over3 positions
- $250,000–299,9997 positions
- Permanent full-time positions721
- Total compensation, all staff$107M
Schedule 3 of its 2024 return. The CRA discloses bands, not names or exact salaries.
Directors & trustees (2024)
Larry Spagnolo (public member); Elena Gould (public member); Richard Huntrods (academic member); Martha Cleveland-Innes (acdemic member); Roger Morrill (public member); Jacqueline Hobal (public member); Byron Nelson (board chair); Leo de Bever (public member); Don Gnatiuk (public member); Terry Lovelace (public member); Daniel Leckett (public member); Lori Van Rooijen (public member); Wilfred Willier (public member); Alex Clark (president); Brenda Kuzio (tutor member); Russell Rupok (graduate student member); Chantel Groening (student member).
As listed on its 2024 return.
Check the source
Every figure on this page is from Athabasca University’s own T3010 filings, published by the Canada Revenue Agency. Verify against the CRA’s charities listing (search BN 106735830RR0001), or read how we compute the receipt.