United Way of Cape Breton County

United Way of Cape Breton County is a public foundation based in Sydney, Nova Scotia, classified by the CRA under foundations. 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 $1.6M in revenue and $1.6M in expenditures.

Its funding that year was roughly 19% from donations, 67% from government. Government funding is the majority of its budget. In 2024, 9 other registered charities reported granting it a combined $52K.

Compared with 47 grantmaking institutions of similar size, its share of spending on mission — charitable programs plus grants to other charities — ranked above 4% of peers. Its fundraising cost per donated dollar was higher than 92% of that peer group. Its highest-paid position fell in the $80,000–119,999 range. The charity reported 3 permanent full-time positions.

As a grantmaker, it reported gifts to 85 qualified donees totalling $1M in 2024, the largest being $48K to YMCA of Cape Breton. Revenue has grown substantially over its filings on record here, from $776K in 2020 to $1.6M in 2024. Its filed list of directors and trustees shows 4 names.