2001 Bantree Street
Ottawa, ON K1B 4X3
CEO: Rachael Wilson
Board Chair: Michaela Tokarski

Charitable Reg. #:10808 2363 RR0001

STAR RATING

Ci's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics:

[Charity Rating: 5/5]

✔+

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.

A-

RESULTS REPORTING

Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.

Good

DEMONSTRATED IMPACT

The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.

NEED FOR FUNDING

Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.

77%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 77 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Ottawa Food Bank:

Ottawa Food Bank is a five star, financially transparent charity with a Good impact rating. It has an above-average A- results reporting grade as well as a reasonably sized reserve fund. For every dollar donated to the charity, 77 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1984, Ottawa Food Bank (OFB) collects and distributes food to 71 organizations in its agency network who operate 98 food programs. It also runs school meal programs in Ottawa’s low-income communities and advocates for government intervention targeting the city’s growing level of food insecurity. According to the charity, 25% of Ottawa households face food insecurity compared to 14% in 2022.

The charity runs two programs: Food Collection & Distribution and Community Programs. It distributed $11.1m worth of food and spent $15.8m cash on its programs in the fiscal year ending in September 2024 (F2024). 

A Charity Intelligence 2024 Top 100 Rated Charity

Food Collection & Distribution was 91% ($14.4m) of the charity’s program spending. During F2024, Ottawa Food Bank’s 71-member agency network distributed 8,268,947 lb of food. According to the charity, its agency network saw 556,232 visits during F2024. The charity also distributed 314,938 lb worth of non-food basic needs like diapers, menstrual products, and hygiene products.

Community Programs was 9% ($1.4m) of the charity’s program spending. In F2024, OFB’s KickStart After 4 subprogram provided 58,175 snacks to food insecure youths at 18 after-school programs. The charity also partnered with 30 organizations than ran breakfast and lunch meals programs for youths living in low-income communities.

 

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Results and Impact

Since Ottawa Food Bank distributed 8,268,947 lb of food across 556,232 client visits, clients received an average of 14.9 lb of food during each visit in F2024. According to the charity, clients receive food once weekly. 

Since OFB spent $14.4m to distribute 8,268,947 lb of food across 556,232 visits, it spent an average of $1.74 / pound distributed and $24.95 / visit.

While Ci highlights these key results, they may not completely represent Ottawa Food Bank’s results and impact.

Charity Intelligence has scored Ottawa Food Bank as having Good impact based on its demonstrated social impact per dollar spent.

Impact Rating: Good

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Finances

Ottawa Food Bank's audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a financial reporting best practice. This means it clearly discloses program, administrative, and fundraising expenses in its financial statements.

In F2024, Ottawa Food Bank received $11.1m worth of donated food (33% of total revenue) and $19.3m in cash donations and special events revenue (58% of total revenue). It also received $493k worth of government funding and $2.7m in investment returns during F2024.

Administrative costs are 5% of revenues and fundraising costs are 18% of donations. This means OFB’s total overhead spending is 23%. For every dollar donated, 77 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable overhead spending range.

In F2024, OFB spent $15.3m cash on its programs and distributed $11.1m worth of donated food.

At the end of F2024, OFB had $18.8m worth of net reserve funds (cash and investments) which covers 123% or nearly 15 months of its annual program spending.

Profile updated by Julian Dranitsaris on March 13, 2025. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.

Learn more: Ottawa Food Bank's impact page

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending September
202420232022
Administrative costs as % of revenues 4.9%5.3%4.7%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 18.1%14.3%12.8%
Total overhead spending 23.0%19.6%17.5%
Program cost coverage (%) 123.0%118.6%207.4%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202420232022
Donations 17,60416,65216,034
Goods in kind 11,0758,4459,424
Government funding 493434261
Special events 1,7441,5351,524
Investment income 2,727(380)(692)
Total revenues 33,64326,68526,551
Program costs 15,25313,77510,378
Grants 01,211325
Donated goods exp 11,0758,4459,424
Administrative costs 1,5101,4381,271
Fundraising costs 3,5062,6002,252
Total spending 31,34427,46923,650
Cash flow from operations 2,299(783)2,901
Capital spending 1535,8881,358
Funding reserves 18,75617,77722,195

Note: 1. F2024 T3010 FILINGS: OFB's latest CRA information is not yet available. Ci will have the opportunity to update OFB’s salary information with F2024 data once this information becomes available. 2. DEFERRED DONATIONS: Since OFB follows deferred accounting, Ci adjusted revenue for changes in deferred donations to show financial information consistently. This affected revenue by $22k, $11k, and ($20k) in F2024, F2023, and F2022, respectively. 3. DEFERRED CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS: Ci adjusted deferred contributions restricted for capital expenditures. This affected revenue by $2k, $332k, and $533k in F2024, F2023, and F2022, respectively. 4. GRANTS RECEIVABLE: Ci adjusted donations for changes in grants receivable which affected revenue by $99k, $141k, and ($240k) in F2024, F2023, and F2022, respectively. 5. GOVERNMENT FUNDING RECEIVABLES: Ci adjusted for changes in government funding receivables which affected revenue by $61k, $10k, and ($131k) in F2024, F2023, and F2022, respectively. 6. UNREALIZED INVESTMENT GAINS: Ci included unrealized investment gains (losses) in revenue, affecting it by $2.0m, ($798k), and ($802k) in F2024, F2023, and F2022, respectively.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 41

Avg. compensation: $87,760

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
0
$160k - $200k
1
$120k - $160k
2
$80k - $120k
7
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2023

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

No comments have been added by the charity.

Charity Contact

Website: www.ottawafoodbank.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

News articles: Matthew Lapierre, "Inflation is driving Ottawa food bank use to record highs, no end in sight", Ottawa Citizen, September 20, 2022

Tel: 613-745-7001

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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001