Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa is a 4-star charity. It is financially transparent and has a B- results reporting grade, which is below average. Its overhead spending is 27%, which is within Ci’s reasonable range. Its reserve funds can cover program costs for two months, which is also within Ci’s reasonable range.

Founded in 1923, Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa (BGCO) provides programs, camps, and community services for at-risk children and youth across Ottawa to experience new opportunities, overcome barriers and develop confidence and skills. The charity reports its programs battle systemic issues such as racism, homophobia, and food insecurity.

BGCO spent $7.1m on its programs in 2024. Its programs are divided into six areas: Creative Arts, Education, Leadership and Social Skills, Physical Activity and Healthy Lifestyle, Community Services, and Camps. The charity did not provide a spending breakdown on its programs.

Creative Arts programs aim to encourage self-expression and identity development through various arts and culturally based programs. These include art workshops, art lessons, murals, and creative presentations. Ci found little data on these programs.

Education programs aim to provide academic support through applied learning skills. Some programs include tutoring, digital skills development, homework assistance, scholarship grants and student placements. In 2024, BGCO reviewed 42 scholarship applications and awarded scholarships to 17 students pursuing post-secondary education. It also provided 60 placement opportunities, which consist of co-ops and internships for young people.

Leadership and Social Skills programs aim to foster leadership skills, character building and confidence in youth to prepare them to be engaged community members. Ci found little data on these programs.

Physical Activity and Healthy Lifestyle programs aim to promote a positive attitude towards physical well-being. These programs include swimming lessons, cooking classes, and various sports leagues. In 2024, BGCO served 11,400 healthy meals and 98,600 healthy snacks in its cooking and nutrition programs.

Community Services engage youth with their community through various services. These services include the Neighbourhood Ambassador Program (NAP), the Park Animation Community Team (PACT) and more. NAP conducts youth development activities and PACT delivers interactive programs across four park sites during the summer. In 2024, BGCO’s Community Services had 8,428 participants. NAP had 37,928 interactions with youth and 127 summer activities. The PACT program had nine weeks of programming.

Camps consist of BGCO’s overnight camp, Camp Smitty, and its day camps during March Break and the summer. Camp Smitty is a summer retreat for children and youth ages 8-16. Overall, its camps aim for youth to build confidence, develop leadership skills and create fun memories. In 2024, BGCO had 3,490 individual visits at Camp Smitty and 2,780 individual visits at its day camps. Its day camps had 279 unique individuals attend.

Overall, the BGCO’s volunteers provided 6,300 hours of service across all its programs in 2024. There were 144,820 interactions across its Creative Arts, Education, Leadership and Social Skills, and Physical Activity and Healthy Lifestyle programs. It had a total of 3,624 unique members across all its programs: 31% ages 6-10, 26% ages 11-13 and 43% ages 14-18.

Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa’s audited financial statements follow line-item costing, which is not a financial reporting best practice. Given this, Ci referred to its T3010 filing with the CRA Charities Directorate to report program, administrative, and fundraising costs.

BGCO received $5.0m in Canadian donations and special event fundraising in 2024, which is 55% of total revenue. It got $2.7m in government funding, which is 30% of total revenue. It spent $7.1m on its programs in 2024, which is 79% of revenue. BGCO recorded a surplus of $205k in 2024.

BGCO spent $825k on fundraising costs, which is 17% of donations. It spent $888k on administrative costs, which is 10% of revenue. BGCO has total overhead spending of 27%. For every dollar donated to BGCO, 73 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

BGCO has $1.4m in reserve funds (cash and investments). BGCO can cover 20%, or two months of its annual program costs with its reserve funds. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

This report is an update that has been sent to Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 14, 2025, by Leah DeFrancesco.