Covenant House Vancouver is a 2-star charity due to its low demonstrated impact. The charity has an average results reporting grade and does not have large funding reserves. Before you give, read Charity Intelligence’s report.

Founded in 1997, Covenant House Vancouver (CHV) supports homeless youth in Vancouver by serving their basic needs and helping them build a strong future. Covenant House offers a “Continuum of Care,” to help youth in all stages of the transition from homelessness to safe housing. Covenant House has three main programs: the Crisis program, the Rights of Passage program, and the Community Support Services program. In F2021, Covenant House Vancouver served an average of 97 youths each day.

In F2021, the Crisis Program made up 53% of total program spending ($6.8m). Covenant House’s Crisis Program runs a 63-bed shelter for youth aged 16 to 24. When youth arrive at the shelter, they receive medical attention, nutritious food, and a safe place to sleep. They can stay for as many nights as they want. There are 28 beds for female-identified youth and 35 beds for male-identified youth. A total of 253 youths stayed in the Crisis program in F2021. Covenant House reports that it served 1,740 meals to youth each week. Some of these meals were served as part of Community Support Services.

In F2021, Covenant House’s Rights of Passage program made up 22% of total program spending ($2.9m). This program gives young people safe, affordable housing and 24/7 support as they transition to living alone. Youth must commit to the program, which includes following curfews, attending classes, and putting aside part of their income for the program fee. Youth will receive a furnished apartment until their 25th birthday. Supports include life skills (cooking, money management, self-care, etc.) and education or employment plan development. 20 youths aged 16-24 were part of the Rights of Passage program in F2021.

In F2021, Community Support Services made up 20% of total program spending ($2.7m). This program provides “as-needed” services to street youth aged 16 to 24. There are two components of this program: Outreach and Drop-In Centre. The Outreach team travels on foot to find youth and offers food, counselling, minor medical attention, and friendship. In F2021, the Outreach team connected with 722 youths. Youth are then invited to Covenant House’s Drop-In Centre for access to a wider array of services and resources.

The remainder of the program costs were allocated to public education about youth homelessness.

Covenant House Vancouver received total donations and special events revenues of $21.7m in F2021. Administrative costs are 8% of revenues (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 23% of donations. This results in overhead costs of 31%. For every dollar donated, 69 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

The charity has total funding reserves of $19.1m. Covenant House Vancouver’s funding reserves can cover program costs for one year and six months.

Charity Intelligence has sent this update to Covenant House Vancouver for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on May 27, 2022, by Lin Zhu.