Vancouver Public Library Board

It reported spending exactly what it took in. Neither is good or bad on its own — charities hold reserves, run capital campaigns, and spend down endowments, and the return does not say which.

• Charitable programs89.3%
• Management and administration10.7%

This charity did not report a fundraising figure. That is not the same as zero. Only one charity in five reports a fundraising figure at all, and the return does not require it.

Vancouver Public Library Board reported spending 89.3% of its expenditure on charitable programs. Among the 4,465 charities registered under public amenities that reported the same line for 2024, the middle of the range is 85.8%, and this charity sits at the 57th percentile — above 57% of them.

That is a position in a distribution, not a verdict. Charities allocate costs differently on the same form, and a lower share often reflects how a return was filled in rather than how the money was spent. The cohort counts only charities that reported this line — about a quarter of the register does not, and they are not in the comparison at all.

Canadian charities report how many of their ten highest-paid positions fall in each pay band. Not who they are, and not what any one person earns — the return does not collect that, and it cannot be worked out from what follows.

• 3$120,000–159,999
• 5$160,000–199,999
• 1$200,000–249,999
• 1$300,000–349,999

10 positions reported in total.

Charities that hold significant property not used in their programs must spend a minimum amount each year — the disbursement quota. Vancouver Public Library Board files this schedule; most charities do not.

Charities may also carry a disbursement excess forward for five years, so a single year is a slice of a longer calculation rather than the whole of it.