WISH Drop-In Centre Society is a four-star financially transparent charity with an average B results reporting grade and a reasonably sized reserve fund. For every dollar donated, 72 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1984, WISH Drop-In Centre Society (WISH) provides Vancouver’s sex workers comprehensive services. It runs a 24-bed emergency shelter, drop-in centre, and outreach vehicle that improve sex worker safety and wellbeing. The charity also offers specialized programming for its Indigenous and LGBTQ2S+ clients. According to WISH’s study of 239 of its clients, many rely on this line of work because of disabilities or other conditions preventing them from finding full time employment. In fact, 131 (59%) rely on disability payments, with many reporting being taken advantage of because of their disability.

WISH runs five programs: its Drop-In Centre, WISH Shelter, Mobile Access Project (MAP Van), Supportive Employment Program, and other programs (Indigenous Health & Safety, Music Therapy, and Learning Centre). It spent $6.1m on its programs in the fiscal year ending in March 2024 (F2024).

Drop-In Centre was 36% ($2.2m) of the charity’s program spending. WISH’s drop-in centre is located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood and provides hot meals, clothing, and hygiene products for those in need. According to the charity, between 330 and 350 women visit its facility daily (120,450 to 127,750 yearly visits). During F2024, WISH distributed clothing during 22,301 visits and hygiene products during 14,103 visits. The charity also served 72,163 meals during F2024.

WISH Shelter was 32% ($2.0m) of the charity’s program spending. WISH runs a 24-bed emergency shelter consisting of three “crash” beds designed for short-term stays, and 21 beds designed for longer term stays. The charity reported 1,090 visits during F2024. The charity also turned away 620 people due to capacity issues. WISH did not report standardized shelter metrics like number of unique clients housed, shelter bed nights provided, or occupancy rate.

MAP Van was 17% ($1.0m) of the charity’s program spending. WISH’s outreach team drives this van across Vancouver with the aim of helping sex workers who live in neighbourhoods lacking community services. The charity distributed 38,228 condoms and responded to 61 bad date crisis calls during F2024. According to WISH, its outreach teams saw 14,944 visits during F2024.

Supportive Employment Program was 9% ($549k) of the charity’s program spending. WISH helps sex workers prepare and find fulltime employment opportunities. In F2024, WISH made 991 employment referrals and processed 622 appointments with sex workers.

Other programs were 6% ($366k) of the charity’s program spending. WISH did not report any quantified metrics associated with its Indigenous Health & Safety, Music Therapy, or Learning Centre subprograms.

WISH's audited financial statements follow line-item costing. This goes against financial reporting best practices and means its audited statements did not clearly disclose how much it spent on program, administrative, and fundraising activities.

In F2024, WISH Drop-In Centre Society received $2.0m worth of donations and special events revenue 31% of total revenue – a 5% decrease from $2.1m received during F2023. The charity also received $4.1m worth of government funding which is 66% of total revenue.

Administrative costs are 18% of total revenue less investment income and fundraising costs are 9% of donations. This means WISH's total overhead spending is 28%. For every dollar donated, 72 cents are available to go to the cause. 

In F2024, WISH spent $6.1m on its programs – an 8% increase from $5.7m spent in F2023.

At the end of F2024, WISH Drop-In Centre Society had $2.1m worth of net reserve funds (cash and investments). Its reserves cover 35% or slightly over four months of its annual program spending.

Profile updated by Julian Dranitsaris on March 18, 2025. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.