Ottawa Humane Society is a financially transparent 3-star charity. It has a results reporting grade of A-, which is above average. For every dollar donated to the charity, 51 cents are available to go to the cause. This is outside Ci's reasonable range for overhead spending.

Founded in 1888, Ottawa Humane Society (OHS) runs programs to improve the well-being of animals in Ottawa. The charity provides medical care for animals, helps reunite lost animals with families, and cares for animals waiting to be adopted. It also runs camps for youth and provides educational animal resources.

In its annual report, OHS breaks down its program spending into two main areas: Animal Care and Rescue and Education and Community Services. Charity Intelligence estimates OHS spent $5.7m on its programs in its fiscal year ending March 2024 (F2024).

Animal Care and Rescue received 81% of program spending in F2024. OHS provides veterinary care, food, and supplies to animals in Ottawa. The charity reports it distributed 18,840 kilograms of food to animals through its Emergency Pet Food Bank in 2024. It also spayed/neutered 2,312 animals and microchipped 221 pets. OHS reports that in total, it helped 6,685 animals in need.

Education and Community Services received 19% of program spending in F2024. OHS runs educational programs to build people's compassion for animals. The charity reports it reached 6,653 children through school presentations and camps in 2024. It also reports that 942 people attended its online pet behaviour webinars and 126 people attended its pet first-aid courses. 379 people attended its pet loss support groups in 2024.

Placement rate is the number of animals that are placed in homes or transferred to other organizations, rather than remaining at a shelter. OHS reports its placement rate was 100% for healthy cats and dogs in F2024. Its placement rate for unhealthy cats and dogs that will not recover but are likely to have a satisfactory quality of life was 98%. Of animals brought to the shelter in F2024, 78% left alive. OHS only euthanizes animals that have serious medical and/or behavioural issues and will not recover.

Ottawa Humane Society’s audited financial statements follow line-item costing, which is not a best practice. This means Ci referred to its T3010 filings to report program and administrative costs.

In F2024 OHS received $10.9m in donations and special events fundraising. It also received $1.5m in government funding. Government funding is 10% of total revenue.

Administrative costs are 24% of revenues (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 25% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 49%. For every dollar donated, 51 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

In F2024 OHS spent $5.7m on its programs, which is 39% of its revenue. In F2024 it had a surplus of $3.0m, which is 20% of its revenue.

Ottawa Humane Society has $20.6m in reserve funds (cash and investments). The reserves can cover 362%, or three years and seven months of program costs. In F2024, the annual return on investment for OHS was 7%. Its five-year annual return on investment is 5%.

In F2024, OHS paid external fundraisers $304k who collected $154k in donations. This means it cost OHS $2 to raise $1 using external fundraisers. It is likely more cost efficient to directly donate to the charity.

This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to Ottawa Humane Society. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on June 20, 2025, by Grady Simpson.