Between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, we completed the second year of our three-year strategy for impact while continuing to strengthen our commitment to operational excellence. We also relied heavily on our core value of adaptability to meet new and growing needs in community.

For the first time in our collective memory, revenues for United Way Halifax were more than $10 million. This unprecedented revenue came from a number of different sources, including our generous donors, the public’s response to the United Way Wildfire Recovery Appeal, and government-funded community programs at both the provincial and federal levels.

Our fiscal responsibility and accountability continued at a high standard. Our financial statements have gone through an independent audit, and notably received an unqualified opinion.

We invested $9.075 million to respond to growing needs in community.

There are four ways that donor dollars impacted local lives and helped bridge gaps for people who are experiencing poverty and marginalization.

A few specific highlights include:

• Continuing to invest more than $1.3 million a year as part of our three-year commitment to support 33 organizations running 35 life-changing programs right here in the Halifax region.
• Disbursing $2.1 million on behalf of the federal government through the Community Services Recovery Fund to help organizations improve the efficacy, accessibility, and sustainability of services through pandemic recovery and beyond. Of the 35 organizations across the province benefiting from the program, 20 are based in Halifax and shared in $1.2 million of funding.
• Responding quickly and efficiently to new and emerging community needs like the Wildfire Recovery Appeal, which was established to help organizations support people who were impacted by the wildfires in HRM and Shelburne and Barrington. The appeal helped meet basic needs for those who were displaced, and later supported ongoing and long-term needs. The total disbursed in 2023-24 was $1.028 million (of $1.5 million raised).
• Stewarding and disbursing $1.9 million through the Urgent Food & Essentials Fund, made possible with support from the Province of Nova Scotia, which supported local nonprofits that were already running food and essentials programs. The fund was administered by United Way Halifax for all programs across Mainland NS.

United Way Halifax’s funding, efforts and attention are all directed toward alleviating the impacts of poverty and strengthening the community for all.  For fiscal 2023-24, here are the ways in which we do that:

We ended the year with a slight excess in revenues of $24,403. We have a healthy cash balance and are confident we can meet our fiscal commitments for the 2024-25 year.

Our consolidated statement of financial position also shows restricted cash of $9.392 million. This is support provided to United Way Halifax in fiscal 2023-24 and is restricted for use on two Nova Scotia housing projects currently in development. We look forward to announcing both in the coming weeks and months.

During the 2023-24 fiscal year, our internal processes remained consistent with the previous year. This allows us to make year-over-year comparisons, which we know is a meaningful point of reference for our donors and stakeholders.

Based on our 2023-24 audited financial statements, 88 cents from every dollar raised is invested in community programs and supports. This is well above the 65 cents required by the Canadian Revenue Agency, and also above the non-profit sector best practices of between 75 and 80 cents. The remaining 12 cents is used to fund the operations of United Way Halifax, making sure our impact, local expertise, donor experience, and financial management continue at a high rate of excellence and reflect a level of effectiveness that our donors have come to trust and expect.