Sheena's Place is a one-star rated charity with an above-average results reporting. It is financially transparent and has overhead costs outside of Ci's reasonable range. With its current reserves the charity can cover annual program costs for 10.3 years.

Founded in 1994, Sheena’s Place (formally known as the Hospice for Eating Disorders of Toronto) helps people affected by eating disorders through professionally run support groups. Sheena’s Place works to inspire hope, reduce stigma, raise awareness, and offer help and information to people over the age of 17 affected by eating disorders, during all stages of recovery. Sheena’s Place reports that an estimated 2.7 million Canadians live with an eating disorder. Eating disorders are the second most fatal mental illness, falling just behind opioid overdose. 

Sheena's Place has five major programs: Support Groups; Expressive Arts Groups; Skill-Building Groups; Body Image and Movement Groups; and Nutrition Groups. The charity does not provide a breakdown of spending by program. 

In F2023, Sheena’s Place had over 1,200 group participants, and provided over 1,600 hours of therapeutic services. The charity reports that it offered over 125 groups and workshops, having added almost 20 new groups in F2023. 

Support Groups are guided by a professional and offer people with eating disorders, as well as their families, friends, and partners, the chance to share their stories and help each other in an informal setting. In F2023, Sheena’s Place began again offering a man-only group.

Expressive Arts Groups help participants express their feelings and release difficult emotions through painting/drawing, writing, and musical activities such as singing or playing an instrument. 

Skill-Building Groups educate participants about techniques to cope with feelings, reduce self-harm, and change circumstances that affect healthy living. 

Body Image and Movement use techniques such as gentle physical movement and exploration of feelings and perceptions to help clients better manage stresses of daily life. 

Nutrition Groups focus on increasing participants' comfort in the kitchen, as well as teaching cooking and food preparation skills. 

Sheena’s Place had total donations and special events revenues of $482k in F2023.   Administrative costs are 32% of revenues (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 37% of donations. This results in 70% overhead spending. For every dollar donated to the charity, 30 cents are available for programs, which is outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. This is due to an 87% decrease in donations and special event revenue since F2021. 

In F2023, Sheena’s Place spent $693k on its programs, which is 58% of total revenues. The charity had $167k in surplus. 

The charity has $8.4m in reserve funds. These are the charity’s cash and investments. In these reserves, $2.6m are endowed by donors. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity’s reserves can cover annual program costs for about 10.3 years.   

Sheena’s Place funding reserves earned investment income of $711k in F2023. This represents an annual return on investment of 9% compared with the average investment returns of 6% for the past five years. As of F2023, the foundation holds its investments in stocks (40%), real estate (30%) and bonds (28%). 

This report is an update that was sent to Sheena’s Place for review. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.  

Updated on July 31, 2024 by Alessandra Castino