Covenant House Toronto

About Covenant House Toronto:

Founded in 1982, Covenant House Toronto (CHT) is Canada’s largest agency for at risk, homeless and trafficked youth. Its mission is to “…serve suffering children of the street, and protect and safeguard all children...with absolute respect and unconditional love.” Its vision is “to lead change that challenges homeless youth to pursue a life of opportunity.”

Covenant House Toronto provides 24/7 crisis care to youth aged 16 to 24, giving them access to a bed, clothes, food and pastoral support. The youth are expected to work on their plans for the future, and meet goals and expectations set out for them. CHT also provides a wide range of services including health care, education, job training, transitional housing and employment assistance.

Covenant House Toronto is part of a leading international agency and has served over 90,000 youths since its inception. Its 5-year strategic plan is nearing culmination as Covenant House Toronto moves into its fifth and final year of the plan in F2017. The plan includes annual goals that focus on housing and aftercare, employment opportunities, community support, advocacy, fiscal stewardship and expansion.

In F2016, Covenant House Toronto provided drop-in services to 1,591 kids, and supported 64 victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking. Further, 776 youths were treated over 6,741 visits to its health care clinic. Over the year, CHT also provided 23 awareness presentations and training sessions. In F2016, 340 youths were reunited with their families, and 431 youths realized jobs or job-training placements.

Financial Review:

Covenant House Toronto is one of Canada’s top 100 charities by donations, with donations of $19.5m in F2016. Its administrative costs were 6% of revenues and fundraising costs were 33% of donations. As such, for every $1 donated, 61 cents go towards the cause. This falls just outside of Charity Intelligence’s reasonable range of overhead spending. Covenant House Toronto has funding reserves of $13.6m, resulting in a program cost coverage ratio of 92%. This means that the charity can cover 11 months of its annual programs.

This charity report is an update that is being reviewed by Covenant House Toronto. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on May 31, 2017 by Juliana Badovinac