Founded in 1998, Ottawa-Gatineau Youth Foundation (OGYF), formerly known as Ottawa Senators Foundation, raises money to support local charities and programs in the Ottawa community that serve children and youth. In 2020, the charity cut ties with the Ottawa Senators NHL team and rebranded as OGYF. Ottawa-Gatineau Youth Foundation divides its grants into four areas: physical wellness, mental wellness, education, and other.

Through physical wellness grants (32% of F2020 spending), OGYF funds programs that work with kids who do not have access to after-school sports, recreation, camp, and social activities. The charity reports that its Campership program supports 18 camps in eastern Ontario and western Quebec. The funding allows these camps to provide over 1,600 young people with 8,000 days of camp and 56,000 hours of physical wellness activities (undated). Its Soccer Speaks program promotes physical activity in an inclusive environment for those struggling with social integration, isolation, and anxiety. The OGYF RecLINK program allows kids of families living in social housing to participate in sports, art, and/or camp programs.

Mental wellness grants (19% of F2020 spending) support programs such as Project STEP and the Youth Hub. Project STEP funding supports charities that deliver addiction counselling, prevention education, and family support. Project STEP helps 57 high schools, three community-based schools, and two centers for residential treatment in Ottawa. OGYF reports that in F2017, 14,100 youth participated in prevention education, and 1,460 youth and 220 parents engaged in counselling. Youth Hub is an initiative launched in partnership with Youth Services Bureau, Royal Ottawa Hospital, South East Ottawa Community Health Centre, and CMHA – Ottawa to help youth transition out of homelessness and into supportive housing.

Education grants (5% of F2020 program spending) include bursaries to college and university students as well as scholarships for mental health patients at Gatineau Health Foundation (offered through the Back to School program). OGYF states that since inception, more than 760 bursaries have been awarded to students attending Algonquin College, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, and La Cité Collégiale.

Included in other support (44% of F2020 program spending) is an annual grant to Roger Neilson House, an eight-bed children’s hospice in Ottawa. Roger Neislon House has had more than 5,500 admissions from across Ontario, western Quebec and Nunavut. It has provided over 33,500 days of care (undated).

Ottawa-Gatineau Youth Foundation’s financial statements on its website do not have a signed auditor’s letter.

OGYF received $3.5m in donations and special events fundraising in F2019. It received $923k in 50/50 lotteries (net of expenses) in F2019. Administrative costs are 15% of revenue (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 50% of donations and special events. Per dollar donated, 35 cents go to the cause, which is not within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Funding reserves of $3.0m can cover annual granting activities at the F2019 level for one year and four months.

The Foundation’s most recent F2020 T3010 filing with the CRA reports $1.9m in grants to registered charities. The four largest grants for the year reported in its T3010 filing were: $681k to CHEO Foundation, $125k to United Way Ottawa, $121k to City of Ottawa, and $113k to Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa.

Ci has sent this update to Ottawa-Gatineau Youth Foundation for review.

Updated on August 19, 2021, by Shira Wine.