Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold is a 3-star, financially transparent charity. It has an A- results reporting score, which is above average, and its reserve funds could cover its program costs for just under seven months, within Ci’s reasonable range. Its reported overhead is understated because the charity does not report any fundraising expenses in either its T3010 filings with the CRA or its audited financial statements.

Founded in 1919, Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold (Community Care) distributes food, clothing, hygiene products, school supplies, and other essential items to people in need across St. Catharines, Ontario. The charity also provides housing referrals, financial support, and system navigation services to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. According to the charity, almost 1 in 7 households in Niagara face food insecurity, with the situation worsened by a lack of affordable housing, rising utility costs, and grocery inflation.

Community Care runs two main programs: Food and Clothing Distribution and Other Programs. In 2025, the charity spent $5.3m on its programs. It did not provide a breakdown of program spending.

Food and Clothing Distribution provides individuals and families with monthly access to food and clothing at two centres in St. Catharines and Thorold. The amount of food provided is based on household size. In 2025, it reported distributing 2.4m lb of food to 153,585 people.

Other Programs include homelessness prevention, the Christmas program, back-to-school program, tax return clinic, and community gardens. In 2025, the ID clinic helped 598 people in need apply for their birth certificates, while the trusteeship program supported 256 clients with referrals, case management, banking, and budgeting until they were stably housed. The Christmas program served 3,112 households, and the Back to School program supported 1,875 children. The charity also completed more than 100 tax returns for clients and had 42 active community garden plots.

Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold’s audited financial statements follow line-item costing, which does not align with financial reporting best practices. The charity also does not report any fundraising expenses in its audited financial statements or T3010, despite reporting fundraising expenses and activities in its annual report. This is unusual and not a best practice.

In 2025, Community Care received $4.5m in donations, which was 76% of total revenue. It also received $525k in government funding, although this is likely underreported by Ci because the charity’s 2025 T3010 was not available at the time of this update.

The charity spent $5.3m on its programs in 2025, representing 89% of its revenue. It ran a surplus of $174k, which was 3% of its revenue.

Administrative costs were $462k, which was 8% of revenue (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs were not reported. Total overhead was 8%, meaning that for every dollar donated, 92 cents are available to go to the cause; however, this is likely understated.

At the end of 2025, Community Care had $2.9m in reserve funds (cash and investments). These reserves could cover its annual program costs for just under seven months, within Ci’s reasonable range.

Profile updated by Ava Anderson on August 14, 2026. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.