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Plan International Canada 2024 Annual Report
Transforming lives through the power of equality
At Plan, equality isn't just a word. It's a catalyst that transforms lives.
It's the reason a girl steps into her first classroom. The reason a village builds its first well. Equality is what creates the conditions for boys AND girls to step into – and help shape – a healthier, just and more prosperous world.
In 2024, we reached 7 million people – including 3.1 million children (1.6 million girls) – across 54 countries through 128 innovative projects. Together with our institutional partners and 200,000 supporters in Canada, including almost 103,000 child sponsors, we're helping create a world where children's rights are respected and there's equality for girls.
And you know what? We won't stop until we are all equal.
Read the full 2024 Annual Report
Click the cover image to launch the interactive magazine. We have embedded videos and links to additional Impact Reports. You can also download your own PDF.
Message from our CEO and Board Chair
Bridging Divides, Building Futures:
How Investing in Girls Transforms Communities
As global crises intensified, our humanitarian response grew by 156%; we delivered $50 million in emergency aid to 2.4 million people.
As we enter 2025, the world seems at once more fragmented and more interconnected than ever. Economic challenges and protracted crises are testing our resilience and resolve. In moments like these, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and overlook how meaningful progress is made – not through dramatic leaps but through steady, thoughtful actions that build a better future. This is the heart of our work, and the reason we remain confident in the impact we can create, especially for girls.
In 2024, Plan International Canada partnered with community volunteers, local organizations, private-sector leaders and governments to transform lives across 54 countries. Together, we reached 7 million people, including 1.6 million girls, through 128 innovative projects. As global crises intensified, our humanitarian response grew by 156%; we delivered $50 million in emergency aid to 2.4 million people, including 600,000 girls, across 17 countries.
Amid these challenges, one solution stands out: investing in girls. Research shows that educating girls not only fuels economic growth but also fosters social stability. In Burkina Faso, our $16.6 million accelerated-learning program enabled 129,613 students – 69,382 of them girls – to catch up on schooling lost to conflict and displacement.
None of this progress would be possible without the generosity of everyday Canadians. Together with the more than 200,000 Canadians who contribute to our mission – including almost 103,000 child sponsors – we’re working alongside communities to foster lasting change.
We take our responsibility seriously, from delivering impactful programs and evaluating outcomes to managing funds. Despite rising operational costs in Canada and globally, we’re proud to report that 83 cents of every donated dollar continues to support programs for children and communities.
All of our work is guided by a distinguished board of directors. This year, we extend special thanks to Paula Sahyoun, our first youth board member, and Leagh Turner, who completed their terms on our board, for their steadfast leadership during complex times.
As we look ahead, we remain unwavering in our belief that together, we can create lasting change for girls. With strategic leadership and measurable results, we are building a future where every child can – and will – thrive. Thank you for standing with us.
Lindsay Glassco
President & CEO, Plan International Canada
Hon. Rona Ambrose
Board Chair, Plan International Canada
Stories and Impact Highlights from 2024
Our Mission
At Plan International Canada we strive to create a world where children – especially girls – learn, lead, decide and thrive. We tackle the root causes of gender inequality. We work with local governments and partners to advocate and develop programs that support children in their right to get an education and be healthy and protected from violence. We develop children’s leadership skills and their ability to earn a living. We’re also there for them when crises strike. And we stay with them to help build a healthy, safe and sustainable life.
To read more about these goals, click on our five priority areas of expertise.
Discover What We Do
Health
43.7% of our program expenditures supported health initiatives.
Humanitarian Response & Resilience
22.8% of program expenditures supported humanitarian response and resilience projects.
Education
17.5% of our program expenditures supported education initiatives.
Youth Leadership & Economic Empowerment
9.9% of our program expenditures supported youth leadership & economic empowerment projects.
Protection from Violence
6% of our program expenditures went toward protection from violence projects.
Financials
Your support, our impact: Reaching 7 million lives
Through partnerships with local communities and non-governmental organizations, children, families and governments, Plan Canada drives sustainable development where it’s needed most. Our impact reached 7 million people – including 3.1 million children – last year; this was made possible by dedicated supporters ranging from individual donors to major institutions.
Our Child Sponsorship program fuels what we call the Plan Effect, where sponsorship funds catalyze community-driven development that attracts additional partnerships and resources. This multiplying effect turns initial sponsorship into broader positive change, expanding our impact far beyond individual sponsored children.
We channel designated funding – including major gifts, Gifts of Hope and recurring donations – into targeted projects chosen by our supporters. These initiatives are co-designed with community members, particularly children and girls, to combat inequality and advance social justice. Through rigorous operational oversight, we maximize the portion of every donation that directly serves program participants.
Revenue
Where did our support come from?
52.8%
Government & other institutional grants
22.1%
Child Sponsorship
15.9%
Contributions, gifts & bequests
8%
Gifts in kind
1.2%
Investments & other income
We received $258 million in support in fiscal year 2024.
Program expenditures
What percentage of program investments went to the different thematic areas?
43.7%
Health($93.5 milliion)
22.8%
Humanitarian response and resilience ($48.9 million)
17.5%
Education ($37.5 million)
9.9%
Youth leadership & economic empowerment ($21.3 million)
6%
Protection from violence ($12.8 million)
Expenditures
What percentage of donations went to Plan International Canada programs?
83 cents of every dollar went toward programming for children and their communities worldwide. We focused on improving education, health, protection from violence, humanitarian response and resilience, and youth leadership and economic empowerment.
17 cents of every dollar went toward fundraising and operations to ensure that our programs are run efficiently and effectively. These funds go toward developing and administering our program-related services, marketing and fundraising initiatives. We also invest in rigorous child-safeguarding and risk management protocol training.
Total FY24 expenditures: $259 million Our fiscal year ran from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. This number includes the purchase and amortization of capital or intangible assets.
Plan International’s Global Impact in 2024
Click here to see the collective impact in 2024 of Plan International’s 1,421 active projects in 83 countries. Plan International’s work reached 43 million children, including 25.3 million girls. Plan International Canada’s programs in Health, Humanitarian Response & Resilience, Education, Youth Leadership & Economic Empowerment, and Protection from Violence reached 7 million people, including 3.1 million children (1.6 million of them girls).
Impact reports
We provide supporters with regular updates on the projects they help fund.
Read our Impact ReportsPowerful Stories and Powerful Points of View
Step inside Kenya’s sacred Kaya Chonyi forest, where Caroline Kiti is helping write a new chapter in climate resilience. Through the lens of Plan’s Embedded Storytellers, Kenyan videographer Armstrong Too and writer Millicent Mutheu, discover how women are transforming coastal communities through innovative seaweed farming, forest conservation and environmental leadership. This intimate portrait not only captures Caroline’s journey from childhood wanderer to community champion but also demonstrates the power of local storytellers’ sharing their communities’ transformations. Their work is part of Plan’s growing network of regional photographers, writers and videographers who bring authentic voices and perspectives to our global stories. See how Armstrong and Millicent’s nuanced storytelling captures both the environmental challenges and the inspiring solutions emerging in Kenya’s coastal regions.
Our Supporters and Champions
Our supporters
We are deeply grateful to our generous and loyal supporters, including the following donors who have contributed over the past three years and whose lifetime giving exceeds $100,000.
Legacy donors
We are incredibly grateful for these thoughtful and generous individuals, who contributed to Plan International Canada through a gift in their estate.
Donor Spotlight
Arti and David Meyers
“I believe in the value of education for girls. It’s women who move communities forward"
For Arti and David Meyers, their 37-year sponsorship journey began with the birth of their first child. “We were young and didn’t have much money,” explains Arti. “We did it out of gratefulness.” Once they began sponsoring, says David, they never questioned stopping. “Instead, we wondered where and how we could do more to help,” he says.
Since then, the couple has always sponsored three children, one for each of their own children – who fondly remember writing back and forth with their peers around the world. Now Arti and David sponsor three additional children to honour their grandchildren. Their impact extends beyond sponsorship through Plan projects focusing on girls’ education and women’s empowerment. “There’s tremendous untapped potential,” says David about investing in girls globally.
We would also like to thank our institutional partners, without whom our work wouldn't be possible:
Thank you for supporting girls and children around the world!
We are proud of what we have accomplished during a challenging year. With your support, we helped make a difference in the lives of children, especially girls. We are determined optimists, and we won’t give up on our efforts until we are all equal.
Plan International Canada is grateful for your commitment to this work and for sharing our vision to create a world where children’s rights are respected, and there’s equality for girls.
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