Tracking Federal Funding Through Layers (and Layers) of Non-Profits

How significant Canadian government funding found its way into Hamas hands

This won’t be the first time I’ve written about how complicated things can get when you try to follow government funding through nested layers of NGOs, charities, and other governments. But every attempt to pull back the curtain helps add a bit more clarity.

Take a deep breath, this one’s going to get interesting. Like many stories these days, it ends in Gaza. But the trick is getting there.

There’s ample evidence that Islamic Relief Canada (IRC) engages in relief work in many countries with large Islamic populations - including through direct and ongoing collaboration with Global Affairs Canada. Their official mandate scope covers “humanitarian and development programs in over 30 countries”.

IRC has been registered as a charity in Canada since 2006. Besides $93 million in direct donations in 2023, the charity also received $10 million in donations from other charities and $2.3 million from the government, largely in the form of grants.

Which other charities donated to IRC? In 2023, IRC got nearly $900,000 from Myriad Canada Foundation. But their largest donation (worth more than $7 million) came from Humanitarian Coalition, which itself has received tens of millions of dollars in federal grants over the years and reported that 87 percent of their total funding ($37 million) came from the government in just 2023.

Some of that money took the form of matching donations for aid projects in Gaza. Here’s how Humanitarian Coalition’s website puts it:

"Canadians respond generously to the humanitarian needs in Gaza. From October 23 to November 12, 2023, eligible donations made to the Humanitarian Coalition and our members were matched by the Government of Canada."

So the federal government has funded IRC both directly, and indirectly through Humanitarian Coalition. Charitable tax deductions provided even more indirect funding through both of those organizations and through organizations like Myriad Canada Foundation. Total funding of all types easily tops tens of millions of dollars a year.

Here’s a visual to give you just a taste of what all the money flow looks like:

What do we know about IRC? According to their website, IRC identifies their “primary implementing partner” as Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW).

In 2021, Joe Biden’s State Department “cut ties” with IRW and initiated a full review of the organization, claiming that IRW spreads antisemitism. As NGO Monitor reports, the Israeli government outlawed IRW in 2014, accusing them of funneling funds to Hamas.