Yonge Street Mission is a four-star financially transparent charity that 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, 66 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1896, Yonge Street Mission (YSM) offers programs following its RISE (respond, invite, support, and engage) model of care for youth, adults, families, and entire communities across Toronto. The charity aims to transform the lives of Torontonians experiencing poverty and end poverty in the city within one generation. According to the charity, 500,000 Torontonians struggle with poverty, 46% of which are recent immigrants. The charity also states that Toronto is the child poverty capital of Canada with one in four children living in poverty within the city. YSM’s main programs include its Bridges, Cornerstone, and Evergreen Centre programs for adults, families, and youth respectively. YSM’s other programs include community development and all other community support services. The charity spent $11.6m on its programs in the fiscal year ending September 2023 (F2023).

Evergreen Health Centre youth services was 39% ($4.9m) of the charity’s program spending. This program offers Toronto youth meals, dental care, mental health counseling, job training, and rehabilitation services. In F2023, the charity opened a new dental facility within the Evergreen Health Centre. This health centre also processed 874 healthcare appointments and 2,989 total visits in F2023. In F2023, the charity’s Davis Centre Food Bank served 27,912 meals to youth. YSM's Computer Literacy Centre trained 608 youths on technology skills. The charity’s HOPE (Helping Offenders on Parole) subprogram served 108 youths and the charity provided 1,840 hours of mental health counselling sessions to 450 youths in F2023.

Community development and services was 29% ($3.7m) of the charity’s program spending. YSM’s community development subprogram advocates for local communities to Toronto’s city council. Since founding, this program represented the needs of Toronto’s Regent Park and York South-Weston neighbourhoods to the city’s municipal government. YSM's Davis Centre Food Bank also served 66,244 meals to 10,800 people in F2023.

Cornerstone family services was 21% ($2.6m) of the charity’s program spending. This program supports Toronto families through daycare, peer support, family counseling, and computer literacy services. In F2023, YSM introduced the Think Forward and Junior Achievement subprograms which provide anti-bullying support and financial literacy training respectively. YSM’s daycare provided 14,575 childcare sessions to 80 unique families. The charity also provided counseling to 607 unique individuals through their Cornerstone Family Care Management counseling services. YSM’s Man2Man support subprogram also provided group counseling sessions to 19 individuals.

Bridges adult services was 12% ($1.4m) of the charity’s program spending. This program offers adults aged 18-60 meals, job training, and other program services. In F2023, YSM provided 10,004 meals through its Davis Centre Food Bank to 4,530 people. The charity also reported 114, 340, and 127 adults using its Bridges Care Management, Community Care, and Church at the Mission services respectively in F2023.

In F2023, Yonge Street Mission received $10.6m in donations compared to $10.1m in F2022, a 5% increase. The charity also received $4.0m in government funding which is 24% of revenues. Administrative costs are 6% of revenues and fundraising costs are 28% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 34%. This means that for every dollar donated, 66 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

In F2023, the charity spent $11.6m on its programs which is a 7% increase from $10.8m in F2022. The charity also had $3.4m capital expenditures (increase from $993k in F2022) and a $1.4m cash surplus.

At the end of F2023, Yonge Street Mission had $7.8m in funding reserves (cash and investments) which covers 67% or slightly over eight months of its annual program cost/spending. This means that in the absence of funding, YSM can financially sustain its programs for eight months.

Profile updated June 11, 2024 by Julian Dranitsaris. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.