Winnipeg Humane Society is a 2-star rated charity. Neither Winnipeg Humane Society nor its Foundation are financially transparent. The charity has an above average results reporting grade but its overhead costs are just outside Ci’s reasonable range. Winnipeg Humane Society has $8.8m in reserve funds, which can cover a year and eight months of annual program costs.

Founded in 1894, Winnipeg Humane Society (WHS) is the oldest animal shelter and welfare organization in Manitoba. It works to protect animals from suffering and to support their welfare and dignity. WHS runs various programs which fall into four main buckets: shelter and animal care, clinic and medical care, advocacy and education, and investigations.

While Ci had access to the charity’s F2022 financial statements at the time of this profile update, the charity had not yet released its F2022 annual report, thus the program information below summarises the charity’s results from F2021. The charity reports it helped over 10,000 animals in F2021.

Shelter and animal care – 54% of program spending in F2021

Animal care programs include animal intake, behavior and training programs, shelter maintenance and repairs, and adoptions and foster programs. Upon arrival, each animal undergoes a behavioural and medical evaluation. In F2021, Winnipeg Humane Society took in 5,571 animals including 4,174 cats, 1,091 dogs, 284 bunnies and critters and 22 wildlife.

Clinic and medical care – 24% of program spending in F2021

The charity runs a clinic with three full-time and several part-time veterinarians who examine, treat, and perform surgery on animals from all over Manitoba. The charity’s clinic team consists of veterinarians, technologists, assistants, receptionists and volunteers. WHS reports that it completed over 5,000 surgeries in F2021 and performed 5,127 spay-neuter services. These spay-neuter procedures are a main area of focus for the charity as it tries to address cat overpopulation in Winnipeg. In addition, it provided veterinary services for 128 companion animals from remote communities in Northern Manitoba. Winnipeg Humane Society does not endorse euthanasia as a means for population control. It uses euthanasia as a last resort and employs humane methods. In F2021, WHS reports a euthanasia rate under 13%, which is its lowest rate on record.

Investigations and emergency response – 12% of program spending in F2021

The charity’s Investigations and Emergency Response department responds to concerns of animal neglect, abuse and emergent animal situations in Winnipeg. In F2021, WHS attended to 1,809 wildlife cases. It responded to 583 emergency calls and to a total of 2,748 calls.

Education and Advocacy – 10% of program spending in F2021

Winnipeg Humane Society’s Education department strives to inform people of the importance of animal welfare, empathy towards animals and responsible pet care. The charity offers courses in dog obedience, pet first aid, kid camps, shelter tours, school field trips, and more. In F2021, it held six virtual speaker series on subjects such as zoonotic disease and ethical consumerism. It delivered 28 presentations, hosted six birthday parties and had 37 drop-in centre bookings.

The Winnipeg Humane Society is not financially transparent. Its audited financial statements are not publicly available on its website.

This report represents the consolidated financial position of Winnipeg Humane Society and the Winnipeg Humane Society Foundation (the Foundation), a separate registered charity that fundraises for WHS. Similar to the operating charity, the Foundation’s audited financial statements are not publicly available.

Ci received Winnipeg Humane Society’s audited financial statements from the CRA but did not receive the Foundation’s financial statements. As such, Ci used the financial information provided on the Foundation’s T3010 filing with the CRA for the financial analysis below.

In F2022, Winnipeg Humane Society received donations and special events revenues of $4.0m. It also received $59k in donated goods-in-kind. It received $1.4m from the government, representing 17% of total revenue. Administrative costs are 14% of revenues (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 22% of donations. This results in overhead spending of 36%, which means that for every dollar donated, 64 cents are available for programs. This is just outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Combined, WHS and the Foundation have $8.8m in reserve funds which can cover 165% or a year and eight months of annual program costs.

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

Updated on August 10, 2023 by Victoria Allder.