Start Me Up Niagara
Publicly funded institution · ST Catharines, Ontario · BN 896011715RR0001 · Organizations Relieving Poverty · website
Source: T3010 return, FPE 2024-03-31. Split of total expenditures ($2,001,066) as filed with the CRA.
Start Me Up Niagara is a charitable organization based in ST Catharines, Ontario, classified by the CRA under organizations relieving poverty. 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 $1.9M in revenue and $2M in expenditures.
Its funding that year was roughly 5% from donations, 60% from government, 8% from other charities. Government funding is the majority of its budget. In 2024, 29 other registered charities reported granting it a combined $483K.
Compared with 1,618 poverty-relief institutions of similar size, its share of spending on mission — charitable programs plus grants to other charities — ranked above 73% of peers. Its highest-paid position fell in the $80,000–119,999 range. The charity reported 17 permanent full-time positions.
Its filed list of directors and trustees shows 10 names.
In its own words
The purpose of the organization is to assist vulnerable persons who are individuals whose lives have been affected by mental illness addictions disabilities poverty and homelessness as follows: a)provides life management counselling and other support services in order to become more independent in the community b)provides training for and to assist in the placement in employment or self-employment c)provides relief by developing and implementing recreation education and social integration programs d)establishes and operates employment support centre that provides ongoing counselling…
Ongoing-program description from its T3010 filing, verbatim.
The ledger, 2020–2024
| Year | Revenue | Spending | Programs | Fundraising | Gifts out | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1.9M | $2M | $1.9M | $39K | — | $824K |
| 2023 | $2.7M | $2.7M | $2.6M | $34K | — | $546K |
| 2022 | $3.2M | $3.2M | $3.1M | $29K | — | $523K |
| 2021 | $2.8M | $2.7M | $2.6M | $38K | — | $465K |
| 2020 | $2.7M | $2.8M | $2.7M | $37K | — | $358K |
Revenue printed in red where the year ran a deficit. Fiscal years by period end.
Money between charities, 2024
Received $483K from 29 charities:
- Blue Sea Philanthropy Inc.$139K
- The Fowler Family Foundation$101K
- The Branscombe Family Foundation$71K
- Canadahelps Canadon$36K
- Canadahelps Canadon$36K
- The Emmet Foundation$28K
- BenefAction Foundation$20K
- Information Niagara Inc.$15K
- CHIMP: Charitable Impact Foundation (Canada)$7,332
- Vancouver Foundation$6,750
- Kiwanis Club of ST Catharines Charitable Trust$5,499
- Doane Grant Thornton Foundation$5,000
- Canadian Online Giving Foundation$2,738
- Waterloo Region Community Foundation$2,200
- Niagara Catholic District School Board$1,250
- Trinity (ST. Catharines) Christian Reformed Church$1,237
- Mennonite Central Committee Ontario$1,000
- Niagara Community Foundation Fondation Communautaire de Niagara$1,000
- PayPal Giving Fund Canada$961
- Christian Stewardship Services$725
- Grace Lutheran Church$710
- United Way East Ontario / Centraide Est de l'Ontario$675
- Unitarian Congregation of Niagara$500
- The United Church of Canada Foundation$300
- Anglican Network Church of the Good Shepherd (St. Catharines)$150
As reported on the donors’ own T3010 qualified-donee schedules.
What it pays
Its ten highest-paid positions, by band:
- $80,000–119,9991 position
- $40,000–79,9999 positions
- Permanent full-time positions17
- Total compensation, all staff$1.2M
Schedule 3 of its 2024 return. The CRA discloses bands, not names or exact salaries.
Directors & trustees (2024)
Laura Dumas (executive director); Susan English (treasurer); Bruce Lilley (vice president); Paul Miller (chair); Sandee Nebel (director); Foluke Ololade (director); Maurice Prindiville (past chair); Robert Richardson (director); Reg Soper (director); Laurie Warkentin (director).
As listed on its 2024 return.
Check the source
Every figure on this page is from Start Me Up Niagara’s own T3010 filings, published by the Canada Revenue Agency. Verify against the CRA’s charities listing (search BN 896011715RR0001), or read how we compute the receipt.