Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold is a 2-star charity. It is not financially transparent and has poor reporting of its results for donors. 

Founded in 1919, Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold (Community Care) aims to help families meet their basic needs and develop self-sufficiency. It runs a food bank, food distribution programs, and various housing and health services. Community Care offers 20 programs and services to support low-income families across St. Catharines and Thorold.

Community Care groups its programs into three main areas: food security, housing security, and health. It does not provide a breakdown of spending on its programs.

Food Security: Community Care collects and distributes food through its food bank programs. The charity provides clients who meet Canada’s low-income cut-off standard with food, clothing, and household goods. Since 1999, the charity has operated 30 community gardens to help local families grow fresh produce. Community Care also helps fund Niagara Nutrition Partners, a program offering students snacks, breakfasts, or lunches.

Housing Security: Community Care runs programs to help clients find housing, pay for utilities, and receive referrals to other agencies. Its Housing Help program offers resources and support to clients for rental applications, landlord disputes, and referrals to emergency shelters. Through the Ontario Electricity Support Program, Community Care helps low-income households receive credits on their monthly electricity bills.

Medical Programs: The charity’s medical programs help low-income families access health screenings, prescriptions, and medical devices. The Brushed Aside program assists clients in submitting requests for dentures, fillings, and tooth extractions. Through the Clara Crawford Fund, Community Care offers senior clients up to $500 to pay for glasses, hearing aids, and prescriptions. Community Care also helps low-income families receive eye exams through the Gift of Sight program.

Community Care also runs other programs, such as ID and income tax clinics, Christmas gift assistance, and family support.

Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold is not financially transparent. It refused to provide its audited financial statements upon request. The following analysis refers to F2020, the most recent year of financial statements received from the CRA.

Community Care had total cash donations of $3.9m in F2020, compared to $2.1m in F2019. It also received $1.8m in goods in kind (26% of revenues) and $1.0m in government funding (14% of revenues).

Community Care does not break down its spending into program, administrative, and fundraising costs on its audited financial statements and reports zero fundraising expenses to the CRA. Ci obtained program, administrative, and fundraising costs from the charity’s annual reports, which reconciled with its audited financials. Administrative costs are 4% of revenues (less investment income), and fundraising costs are 4% of cash donations. This results in total overhead spending of 8%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 92 cents go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Community Care has $3.2m in funding reserves, compared to $1.7m in F2019. The charity can cover 94% or eleven months of its annual program costs with reserves. Community Care’s program cost coverage nearly doubled from F2019 to F2020.

Charity Intelligence has sent this update to Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 28, 2022, by Sydney Olexa.