Our Place is a four-star charity that is financially transparent and has not yet been rated on impact (n/r). It has an A- results reporting grade, which is above average. For every dollar donated to the charity, 72 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

Founded in 2007, Our Place is a British Columbian (BC) Christian charity operating out of the city of Victoria. It runs three emergency shelters, four transitional housing apartments, and an addictions recovery facility. The charity also provides meals, medical aid, hot showers, and other basic needs at its shelters. Our Place also runs a referrals program where its outreach teams connect people in need to the charity’s services. According to the charity, Victoria is plagued by the opioid crisis. In 2023, the city saw the third highest number of overdose deaths compared to other BC cities. The charity runs four programs: housing, substance abuse treatment, community outreach & referrals, and community services. It spent $17.6m on its programs in the fiscal year ending March 2023 (F2023).

Housing was 66% of the charity’s program spending and relates to both its emergency and transitional housing services. Each night in F2023, Our Place housed 427, 34, and 287 people in short-term shelters, emergency housing, and long-term transitional housing, respectively. The charity also reported moving 70 people from its emergency housing apartments into its long-term housing community in F2023. The charity’s case management team also processed 363 applications in F2023.

Substance Abuse Treatment was 14% of the charity’s program spending. The charity runs a residential treatment facility – the New Roads Therapeutic Recovery Community – where adult men struggling with substance abuse join a 9-24 month treatment program. In F2023, the facility reported 75 new intakes into its treatment program. The charity also reported treating 244 overdoses in F2023.

Community Services was 10% of the charity’s program spending. Our Place offers drop-in services at its emergency shelters including meals, hot showers, and medical aid. In F2023, it served 470,000 meals, provided 8,944 hot showers, and administered 130 foot care treatments.

Community Outreach & Referrals was 10% of the charity’s program spending. The charity’s outreach team identifies and refers Victorians in need to its programs. In F2023, Our Place reported 61 detox treatment and 279 housing referrals, respectively.

Our Place Society (operating charity) receives grants from Our Place Foundation (foundation), a separately registered charity established in 2018. At the end of F2023, the foundation held $4.6m of Our Place’s liquid current assets (cash and investments), representing 43% of its reserve funds. As such, Ci consolidated the operating charity’s and foundation’s audited financial statements (henceforth Our Place).

In F2023, Our Place received $4.4m in donations which is 23% of revenues and a slight increase compared to $4.3m worth of donations in F2022. The charity also received $12.6m in government funding which is 67% of revenues and a 9% decrease from $13.9m in F2022. Administrative costs are 7% of revenues and fundraising costs are 21% of donations. This results in 28% total overhead spending, meaning that for every dollar donated, 72 cents are available to go to the cause.

In F2023, Our Place spent $17.6m on its programs, a 5% increase from $16.7m in F2022. The charity also had a $1.1m cash deficit in F2023.

At the end of F2023, Our Place had $10.7m net reserve funds. Ci backed out $40k of externally restricted endowment funds from its reserve funds. This reserve fund covers 60% or slightly under eight months of its annual program spending.

Profile updated by Julian Dranitsaris on August 2, 2024. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.