Downtown Mission of Windsor is a four-star financially transparent charity that has not yet been rated on impact (n/r). It has a B- results reporting grade, which is below average. For every dollar donated to the charity, 81 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1982, Downtown Mission of Windsor (DMW) is a Christian charity that provides food, shelter, addiction recovery, and job training to disadvantaged people living in Windsor, Ontario. The charity states that 200 homeless people sleep on the streets of downtown Windsor each night and that this number is increasing. DMW’s main programs include its shelter/sanctuary, food, youth, and social enterprise services. Other programs include addiction recovery and job training services. The charity spent $3.0m on its programs in the fiscal year ending December 2023.

Shelter services was 57% of the charity’s program spending and includes the Night Sanctuary, Day Adult Programming, and Leamington Shelter subprograms. This emergency drop-in overnight shelter offers residents free hygiene products, showers, and clothing. In 2023, the charity provided 90 individuals with long-term housing. It also provided 31,129 overnight stays in 2023, a 19% increase from 2022.

Food services was 22% of the charity’s program spending and includes the Downtown Mission Kitchen, Food Bank, and Food Recovery subprograms. In 2023, DMW rescued 1,648,458 lb of expired food and distributed it to 27 food banks. The charity also served 365,075 meals to 24,205 people and 13,129 households.

Youth services was 11% of the charity’s program spending and includes services provided by the Windsor Youth Centre for people between the ages of 13 and 25. In 2023, the charity supported 5,124 youths throughout the year, specifically providing 573 and 2,917 youths with clothing and hygiene products respectively. DMW also referred 262 youths to partner agencies.

Social enterprise was 6% of the charity’s program spending and includes DMW’s Chari-Trees program. This is a jobs training program that helps trainees become employed. In 2023, 140 people completed training with 112 (80%) finding a job within three months of graduation.

Other programs was 4% of the charity’s program spending and includes DMW’s addiction recovery and employment support subprograms. In 2023, DMW treated 165 opioid overdoses and provided 26,208 hours of addictions counselling for 210 adults and 360 youths. The charity also trained 54 people for job readiness.

In 2023, Downtown Mission of Windsor received $3.1m donations and $4.3m goods in kind, a 7% and 16% respective decrease compared to 2022. Administrative costs are 10% of revenues and fundraising costs are 9% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 19%. This means that for every dollar donated, 81 cents are available to go to the cause.

In 2023, the charity spent $3.0m on its programs which is 67% of revenues excluding goods in kind. The charity increased its program spending by $200k (6%) since 2022.

At the end of 2023, DMW had $625k net funding reserve (cash plus investments less interest-bearing debts) which covers 21% or less than three months of its annual program spending. 

Downtown Mission of Windsor’s 2023 T3010 filing with the CRA has not been released at the time of this update, meaning Ci cannot update the charity’s salary and employment information. Ci will have the opportunity to update this information when the T3010 filing is updated.

Profile updated June 5, 2024 by Julian Dranitsaris. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.