The Michael and David Cape Foundation

It took in $756,800 more than it spent, and retained the difference. 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.

This charity did not report a breakdown of its spending.

That is a normal and permitted way to file — the CRA return lets smaller charities complete a simplified section. It is not a sign of anything, and it does not mean the charity spent nothing on these things.

The Michael and David Cape Foundation reported spending 99.8% of its expenditure on charitable programs. Among the 2,895 charities registered under foundations that reported the same line for 2017, the middle of the range is 75.4%, and this charity sits at the 84th percentile — above 84% 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.

Charities that hold significant property not used in their programs must spend a minimum amount each year — the disbursement quota. The Michael and David Cape Foundation 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.