Founded in 1983, Camp Oochigeas (Camp Ooch) provides camp experiences for children with cancer, offering opportunities for personal growth through fun and challenging activities. Its camp programs cater to children both in active treatment and in remission, as well as family members of children with cancer. Camp Ooch is based in Toronto and runs three overnight camp locations.

Recent News: Effective in 2020, Camp Oochigeas and Camp Trillium announced that they would merge and become a single charity. The most recent financial statements from F2019 posted by both charities are not consolidated. Charity Intelligence will complete a full update on the merged charity for F2020 when the new financial statements are available.

Camp Oochigeas runs two main programs: Overnight Camp and In-City programs.

Overnight Camp programs represented 51% of program spending in F2019. Camp Ooch runs one- or two-week camp sessions at Ooch Muskoka, Camp Trillium OuR Island, and Camp Trillium Rainbow Lake. It states that Ooch Muskoka is the only camp in Canada that offers on-site IV chemotherapy, central line care, and blood transfusions. At camp, children take part in activities such as swimming, waterskiing, fishing, high ropes, and rock climbing. Depending on their age group, campers can also participate in a cook-out, an overnight camping trip, or a three-day canoe outing. Pediatric oncologists and nurses are always available at Camp Ooch’s “Med Shed” for campers who need medication or care. Camp Ooch states that it provided overnight camp experiences for 602 campers in F2019 (up from 550 campers in F2018). Assuming overnight camps are 51% of operations, Camp Ooch spent roughly $9,280 in operating costs per camper during the year ($9,190 per camper in F2018).

In-City programs were 49% of program spending in F2019. These include in-hospital programs and community programs. Camp Ooch runs year-round, interactive activities for children staying at six pediatric care centres in Ontario. In F2019, Camp Ooch reports that it reached 1,898 children through in-hospital programs (up from 1,634 in F2018). It spent roughly $2,885 in operating costs per child in F2019 ($3,032 in F2018). Camp Ooch also runs community and family programs, such as day camps and weekend activities. Many of Camp Ooch’s year-round programs serve children who are too sick to attend overnight camp. In F2019, Camp Ooch reports that it served 419 families through community programs (up from 365 families in F2018).

Camp Oochigeas is a Large charity, with donations and special events revenue of $15.1m in F2019. Administrative costs are 8% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 19% of donations and special events revenue. This results in total overhead spending of 26%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 74 cents go to the cause. This falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Camp Ooch has $9.9m in funding reserves, of which $64k is donor-endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity could cover almost two years of annual program costs.

Camp Ooch’s capital spending in F2017 was $15.1m, over ten times higher than F2019 levels. According to the charity’s financial statements, this capital spending was largely associated with the expansion of its Muskoka camp location. In 2014, Camp Ooch began reconstruction of its Muskoka site to accommodate up to 50% more campers each year. It reports that it completed construction of the expanded camp in 2018. Camp Ooch continued to undergo minor renovation projects at Ooch Muskoka in F2019.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Camp Oochigeas for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on August 27, 2020 by Eric Zhao.