Women in Need Society of Calgary is a 4-star, financially transparent charity with an above-average A- results reporting grade. It has a reasonably sized reserve of cash and investments, as well as 22% total overhead spending. For every dollar donated, 78 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1992, Women in Need Society of Calgary (WINS) sells discounted clothing, furniture, household supplies, hygiene products, and other basic needs at its thrift store for those who cannot otherwise afford full-priced products. WINS also offers warehouse and retail training courses to its clients, with many of these clients working at its thrift store after completing training. 81% of WINS' 27,313 clients are women because, according to the charity, existing wage gaps and lack of provincial childcare makes them more vulnerable to poverty.

WINS runs two program groups: Community Resource Hub and Employment Services. It spent $7.9m on its programs in the December 2024 fiscal year. The charity provided no further breakdown of its program spending at the time of this profile update.

Community Resource Hub is WINS’ main program. In 2024, the charity provided 8,229 program supports to 5,416 unique individuals. According to the charity, these supports include basic needs sold at a discount at its thrift store, emotional support sessions, and referrals to other charities.

Employment Services includes WINS’ retail and warehouse skills training courses. In 2024, the charity provided 9,711 supports (training sessions, bus tickets, steel toe boots, and job referrals) to 158 program participants spread across 24 cohorts. WINS also provided 25,155 hours of skills training during 2024.

WINS’ audited financial statements follow line-item costing, meaning it does not clearly report program, administrative, and fundraising expenses. This is not a best practice.

In 2024, WINS received $2.4m worth of donations and revenue raised from fundraising events (26% of total revenue). The majority (69%) of its revenue is from its net thrift store profits which increased to $6.5m in 2024 from the $5.8m received in 2023. Administrative costs are 4% of total revenue less investment income and fundraising costs are 18% of donations. Its 22% overhead spending means that for every dollar donated, 78 cents are available to go to the cause.

In 2024, WINS spent $7.9m on its programs – an 8% increase from $7.3m spent in 2023. The charity spent $939k on capital assets in 2024 (118% increase from $431k spent in 2023). The charity reported opening two new store locations in 2024 which likely explains this increase.

At the end of 2024, WINS had $2.7m worth of reserve funds (cash and investments). This can cover 34% or around four months of its annual program spending.

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