The Redwood is a four-star financially transparent charity with an Average impact rating. It has a B results reporting grade, which is average, as well as both reasonable overhead spending and a reasonably sized reserve fund. For every dollar donated, 75 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1993, The Redwood (Redwood) helps women and children escape domestic, partner, and other forms of gender based violence. It does so by operating a 35-bed emergency shelter in Toronto that can house 11 families, which specifically houses women and children fleeing violence. At its shelter, women receive meals, personal care supplies, and other support. The charity also runs a 24/7 crisis hotline and trades-focused jobs training programs for its clients.

Redwood has two programs: emergency shelter and other programs. The charity spent $4.2m on its programs in the fiscal year ending in March 2024 (F2024). It did not provide a program spending breakdown in its audited financial statements or latest annual report at the time of this update.

Emergency shelter is the charity’s main program. During F2024, Redwood housed 162 unique clients (67 women and 95 children) who lived at its shelter for an average of 3-6 months, a decrease from 154 clients housed (62 women and 92 children) during F2023. The charity also ran 109 counselling sessions attended by 45 people in F2024. According to the charity, these sessions were designed for children navigating trauma associated with domestic violence.

Other programs include Redwood’s iDetermine 24/7 crisis hotline and Women in Trades job training subprograms. During F2024, the charity’s crisis hotline made 1,980 connections with callers and texters. Redwood also trained 15 women on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning maintenance (HVAC) skills during F2024 (10 women trained in F2023).

The Redwood’s audited financial statements follow line-item costing, meaning Ci could not determine spending on program, administrative, and fundraising activities using its audited financials alone. This does not align with financial reporting best practices.

In F2024, Redwood received $2.9m worth of cash donations (64% of total revenue) and $1.5m worth of government funding (32% of total revenue). This is a 14% increase from $2.6m donations received and a 4% decrease from $1.6m government funding received during F2023.

Administrative costs are 14% of revenue less investment income and fundraising costs are 11% of donations. This means Redwood’s total overhead spending is 25%. For every dollar donated, 75 cents are available to go to the cause.

During F2024, Redwood spent $3.2m on its programs (8% increase from $3.0m spent in F2023).

At the end of F2024, Redwood had $4.3m worth of net reserve funds (cash and investments). This covers 133% or around one year and four months of its annual program spending.

Profile updated by Julian Dranitsaris on April 23, 2025. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.