People Words & Change
Publicly funded institution · Ottawa, Ontario · BN 131583783RR0001 · Teaching Institutions · website
Source: T3010 return, FPE 2024-03-31. Split of total expenditures ($308,713) as filed with the CRA.
People Words & Change is a charitable organization based in Ottawa, Ontario, 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 $328K in revenue and $309K in expenditures.
Its funding that year was roughly 8% from donations, 84% from government. Government funding is the majority of its budget. In 2024, 6 other registered charities reported granting it a combined $24K.
Compared with 1,540 education institutions of similar size, its share of spending on mission — charitable programs plus grants to other charities — ranked above 27% of peers. Its highest-paid positions fell in the $80,000–119,999 range (2 positions in that band). The charity reported 3 permanent full-time positions.
Its filed list of directors and trustees shows 10 names.
In its own words
People words & change is a community-based adult literacy and basic skills program in ottawa. We train and match volunteer tutors with learners who want to improve their basic reading writing math and computer skills in order to find or keep employment take further education or employment training or gain skills for greater independence.
Ongoing-program description from its T3010 filing, verbatim.
The ledger, 2020–2024
| Year | Revenue | Spending | Programs | Fundraising | Gifts out | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $328K | $309K | $230K | $8,366 | — | $110K |
| 2023 | $265K | $260K | $192K | $7,181 | — | $91K |
| 2022 | $263K | $252K | $185K | $6,991 | — | $86K |
| 2021 | $253K | $253K | $186K | $6,852 | — | $78K |
| 2020 | $261K | $255K | $189K | $7,335 | — | $78K |
Revenue printed in red where the year ran a deficit. Fiscal years by period end.
Money between charities, 2024
Received $24K from 6 charities:
- The Morrison Foundation$10K
- Canadahelps Canadon$8,876
- The Eastern Ontario & Western Quebec Christmas Cheer Foundation/la Fondation Esprit de Noel de l'Est de l'Ontario et l'Ouest du Québec$2,900
- United Way East Ontario / Centraide Est de l'Ontario$1,590
- PayPal Giving Fund Canada$151
- Canadian Online Giving Foundation$71
As reported on the donors’ own T3010 qualified-donee schedules.
What it pays
Its ten highest-paid positions, by band:
- $80,000–119,9992 positions
- $40,000–79,9991 position
- Permanent full-time positions3
- Total compensation, all staff$224K
Schedule 3 of its 2024 return. The CRA discloses bands, not names or exact salaries.
Directors & trustees (2024)
Margaret Macdonald (president); Rhonda Birenbaum (vice president); Lynn Hemmings (treasurer); Andre Savary (secretary); Leith De Tracey (director); Catherine Newell (director); Marcia Steinburg (director); Jo-Anne Doherty (director); Gary Warnock (director); Dee Sullivan (executive director).
As listed on its 2024 return.
Check the source
Every figure on this page is from People Words & Change’s own T3010 filings, published by the Canada Revenue Agency. Verify against the CRA’s charities listing (search BN 131583783RR0001), or read how we compute the receipt.