Covenant House Toronto
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
A
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
Low
DEMONSTRATED IMPACT
The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.
NEED FOR FUNDING
Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.
69%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 69 cents are available for programs.
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Programs
About Covenant House Toronto:
Founded in 1982, Covenant House Toronto (COVT) offers 24-7 support to youth who are homeless, trafficked, or at risk. As many as 40,000 young people in Canada experience homelessness every year. COVT reports that it has one of the highest staff to youth ratios among agencies serving this population in Toronto. Many of these young people have experienced trauma or face mental health issues. Homelessness can happen to anyone – 61% of youth at Covenant House are from average to upper-income households where they did not feel safe. Left on the streets, kids can become involved in drugs, sex trafficking, or gangs, often just hoping to fulfill their basic needs.
In F2019, the crisis shelter received 44% of program spending. A total of 712 youth used the shelter with the help of 150 youth workers. The on-site health centre provided 4,647 healthcare visits in F2019. There are two emergency beds reserved for young women who are victims of sex trafficking or exploitation.
In F2019, Community Support Services and Outreach (CSS) received 22% of program funding. CSS helps homeless or low-income youth who live outside of the crisis shelter or transitional housing. In F2019, the CSS drop-in centre supported 1,793 youth. Kids can eat meals, access a COVT foodbank, get clean clothes, receive healthcare, or access counselling. In F2019, COVT expanded mental health and addiction supports by hiring an occupational therapist and creating community partnerships. In F2019, 465 youth received support for mental health and addiction issues, which is an increase from 140 youth in F2018. COVT gave specialized support to 113 victims of sexual exploitation.
In F2019, Long-Term Transitional Housing received 21% of program funding. This program prepares youth for living independently by offering workshops on budgeting, laundry, and grocery shopping. Job training and career counselling services are also available. If they stick to a personal plan regarding work or school, the youth can live in an apartment while paying low rent. Youth in the 'Rights of Passage' program live on a shared floor at the main Covenant House site. Avdell home and Rogers Home each provide housing to up to six victims of sex trafficking. In F2019, COVT opened two new homes for youth facing discrimination related to race or sexual orientation.
In F2019, 7% of program spending was spent on educating the public about youth homelessness and sex trafficking, 4% covered healthcare costs for youth, and 3% was spent on program evaluation and research.
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Results and Impact
Covenant House Toronto's 2018-2022 Strategic Plan includes progress reports on its goals. As part of COVT's goal to expand employment opportunities for youth, the charity increased the number of work placements, resulting in 583 jobs and job training placements in F2019. As part of COVT's goal to expand homelessness and sex trafficking prevention, the charity continued a program to reconnect youth with their families or personal support network; in F2019, it helped 204 youth, an increase from 123 youth in F2018.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Covenant House Toronto’s results and impact.
Given the high cost per client, Ci has rated Covenant House Toronto as Low on demonstrated impact per dollar.
Impact Rating: Low

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Finances
Covenant House Toronto is a Major 100 charity, receiving $25.8m in donations in F2019. Administrative costs are 5% of revenues (excluding investment income), and fundraising costs are 26% of donations. This means overhead costs are 31%. For every $1 donated, 69 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci's reasonable range for overhead spending.
COVT has $22.1m in funding reserves, which can cover program costs for just over one year.
Covenant House Toronto reports that unlike many other social services agencies, it is primarily donor funded, with nearly 80% of the agency's yearly budget coming from donors.
This charity report is an update that has been sent to Covenant House Toronto for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.
Updated on June 05, 2020 by Eric Jose.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending June
|
2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|
Administrative costs as % of revenues | 4.9% | 5.7% | 5.7% |
Fundraising costs as % of donations | 26.4% | 27.3% | 28.5% |
Total overhead spending | 31.3% | 33.1% | 34.2% |
Program cost coverage (%) | 106.5% | 104.4% | 109.2% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|
Donations | 25,782 | 24,375 | 22,717 |
Government funding | 2,497 | 1,585 | 1,018 |
Fees for service | 2,751 | 2,675 | 2,711 |
Investment income | 1,236 | 463 | 375 |
Other income | 614 | 192 | 97 |
Total revenues | 32,880 | 29,289 | 26,918 |
Program costs | 20,716 | 18,010 | 15,799 |
Administrative costs | 1,547 | 1,655 | 1,502 |
Fundraising costs | 6,810 | 6,665 | 6,485 |
Total spending | 29,073 | 26,329 | 23,786 |
Cash flow from operations | 3,807 | 2,960 | 3,132 |
Capital spending | 1,339 | 2,469 | 953 |
Funding reserves | 22,053 | 18,798 | 17,260 |
Note: Ci has adjusted for deferred capital contributions to report on a cash basis, affecting revenues by ($481k) in F2019, ($332k) in F2018, and ($107k) in F2017. Ci backed out amortization of capital assets on a pro-rata basis from program, administrative, and fundraising costs.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
1 |
$200k - $250k |
3 |
$160k - $200k |
1 |
$120k - $160k |
5 |
$80k - $120k |
0 |
$40k - $80k |
0 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2019
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Comments from 2018:
Reserves: Covenant House maintains reserves equivalent to up to six months of annual operating revenue to ensure it can deliver services to youth and maintain its operation in the event that donations decline. Unlike other not-for-profit service delivery organizations in the country, CHT relies on fundraising as its primary source of income. Over 80% of every dollar spent to support our services to youth and our operations comes from donations. Given our substantial reliance on donations, it is critical, both from a legal and an accounting perspective, that we have sufficient reserves to ensure uninterrupted services which include costs associated with our facilities, staff, and delivery of programs to about 350 youth daily.
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 1-800-435-7308