Ottawa Mission is a 4-star charity. It has an above-average results reporting grade and reasonable overhead costs. Charity Intelligence has not assessed (n/r) Ottawa Mission's impact. 

Founded in 1906 as Union Mission for Men, the charity was later renamed Ottawa Mission. It provides shelter, food, clothing, skills, and spiritual support to homeless people in Ottawa, with the goal of helping people build a wholesome life. Ottawa Mission divides its program spending into four areas: food & shelter, addiction & trauma treatment, client services, and health services.

Ottawa Mission’s fundraising arm is Ottawa Mission Foundation, which was established in 2010, as a separately registered charity. In F2021, the foundation granted $6.9m to Ottawa Mission.

In F2021, emergency food and shelter services made up 56% of program spending. Ottawa Mission sheltered 1,244 people in F2021, with a daily average of 138. The shelter had a 94% occupancy rate during the year. Ottawa Mission also reports serving 728,000 meals in F2021 – an average of 2,500 meals daily, which is an 80% increase from F2020.

In F2021, addiction & trauma services received 15% of program spending. Ottawa Mission’s addiction & trauma services have four major programs. The Day program, which had 13 attendees in F2021, is a drop-in group for peer support and education. The Hope program, a three-month harm reduction program for men who stay at the shelter, had 29 graduates in F2021. Ottawa Mission's abstinence program, Stabilization, had 43 graduates in F2021. LifeHouse is a five-month residential treatment program for men with addiction and trauma history. The LifeHouse program had 13 graduates in F2021.

In F2021, client services made up 12% of program spending. These services include employment support, educational support, mental health services, and case management. In F2021, Ottawa Mission helped 107 people with resumes and 199 people with job searches. The Mission’s Stepping Stones Learning Centre, which helps people obtain high school diplomas and improve literacy skills, had 51 students in F2021. Ottawa Mission also provided mental health services such as crisis intervention, relapse prevention, and psychiatric and psychological support. The charity's Client Services Case Management served 95 clients in F2021.

In F2021, health services received 11% of program spending. These services include a primary care clinic, a dental clinic, and a hospice. Ottawa Mission’s primary care clinic had 15,362 patient visits and the dental care clinic had 52 dental care patient visits in F2021. Its hospice cared for 65 patients during the year.

The remaining 6% of spending was allocated to fund housing services in F2021.

The following analysis consolidates the audited financials of Ottawa Mission and Ottawa Mission Foundation.

Ottawa Mission received a total donation of $11.8m in F2021. Administrative costs are 11% of revenues (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 17% of donations. This means overhead costs are 27%. For every dollar donated, 73 cents go to the cause. This is outside of Ci’s reasonable range. 

Ottawa Mission has funding reserves of $19.0m that can cover one year and 11 months of program costs at the F2021 level. 

This charity report is an update that was sent for review to Ottawa Mission. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 1, 2022 by Lin Zhu.