Young Women’s Christian Association of Greater Toronto is a 3-star charity. It has a results reporting grade of C which is below average. For every dollar donated, 66 cents are available to go towards the cause.

Founded in 1873, Young Women’s Christian Association of Greater Toronto (YWCA Toronto) primarily supports underserved women, girls, and individuals of diverse gender identities. YWCA Toronto’s main programs include Housing, Employment, Gender-Based Violence, and Girls & Family Programs. In 2024, Young Women’s Christian Association of Greater Toronto spent $41.8m on its programs but does not provide a breakdown by program.

For its Housing program, YWCA Toronto offers two violence-against-women shelters, one shelter for homeless women, and one transitional housing project. Its Davenport homeless shelter currently houses 55 beds and will be expanded to 73 beds. The charity reports that it shelters over 2,000 women annually.

For its Employment program, YWCA Toronto runs 15 employment and training programs at its two Toronto Employment Centres. In 2024, 4,157 women and gender-diverse participants developed career ready skills in employment and training programs. In 2024, 1,891 newcomers had enhanced readiness to enter the Canadian labour market.

YWCA Toronto’s Gender-Based Violence program focuses on advocating about the issue and providing support for women and gender-diverse people who experience gender-based violence. In 2024, the charity reported that 163 women, girls and children lost their lives to gender-based violence in Toronto. In 2024, YWCA helped 164 mothers, gender-diverse parents and children have a space to heal through its Here to Help and Adventures in Sharing program.

YWCA Toronto runs many Girls & Family Programs, including Camp Tapawingo. In 2024, 566 girls and gender-diverse youths attended Camp Tapawingo in 2024. 150 of those individuals benefitted from Camp Tapawingo subsidies. 

Young Women’s Christian Association of Greater Toronto’s financial statements follow line-item costing, meaning it does not disclose which expenses relate to programming, administrative, and fundraising activities. This is not a best practice.

In 2024, YWCA Toronto received $5.6m in donations and special events revenue, down 13% from the $6.3m received in 2023. In 2024, the charity received $31.1m in government revenue which represents 67% of total revenues. Administrative costs are 10% of total revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 24% of total donations. For every dollar donated, 66 cents are available to go towards the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. In 2024, YWCA Toronto spent $38.0m on its programs which represents 82% of total revenues.

In 2024, YWCA Toronto had $13.6m in liquid assets and $56.0m in interest-bearing debts creating a negative program cost coverage ratio. These debts mainly represent mortgages to finance its shelters and facilities. Excluding debts, YWCA Toronto could cover 39% or almost five months of program costs.

In 2024, YWCA Toronto paid external fundraisers $12k to raise $5k. This means the cost of raising a dollar via external fundraisers is 44 cents.

Updated on August 11, 2025 by Abby Stout.