Choices for youth is a 4-star, financially transparent charity with a reasonably sized reserve of cash and investments (reserve fund). It also has an above-average A- results reporting grade. For every dollar donated, 71 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1990 and operating in Newfoundland & Labrador, Choices for Youth (CFY) helps vulnerable youths in St. John’s live independently. It does this by providing community housing, jobs training, sales and manufacturing work opportunities at two social enterprises, drop-in services, and counselling to youths in need. According to CFY, youths are increasingly turning to community housing because monthly rents in St. John’s have increased 19% since 2020 ($903 to $1,077) with no equivalent increase to government transfer payment programs.

Choices for Youth runs four program groups: transitional housing, employment programs, health & outreach, and family programs. It spent $9.5m on its programs in the March 2024 fiscal year (F2024).

Housing is CFY’s main program and includes emergency shelter provided by The Choices Shelter and community housing at its The Lily, Rallyforward, and Soft Landing buildings. According to the charity, youths aged 16 to 29 are eligible for its housing programs. In F2024, the charity provided 2,072 nights of shelter and maintained an 89% occupancy rate across its four locations. The charity did not provide any further breakdown of its housing program metrics for any of its four locations.

Employment programs include jobs training courses focused on sales and manufacturing skills designed for youths. According to the charity, many youths who complete its courses work at one of its two social enterprises: Neighbourhood (clothing thrift store) or The Shop (clean energy refits in buildings across St. John’s). In F2024, CFY signed off on 165 training completion certificates. The charity also reported that youths worked a total of 43,035 hours at its social enterprises in F2024.

Health & outreach includes drop-in services offered by CFY, such as providing personal care items, meals, access to a phone, and legal assistance. Choices for Youth reported 618 engagements with youth during its drop-in activities and served 9,625 meals in F2024.

Family programs include family therapy between youths and their relatives, as well as tailored support for young mothers. In F2024, 286 families participated in 108 family counselling sessions.

CFY's audited financial statements follow activity-based costing – a best practice. This means it clearly discloses which expenses relate to program, administrative, and fundraising activities.

CFY’s auditor – Grant Thornton – restated its F2023 financial information in its F2024 audited financial statements. Ci updated this latest information in this update.

In F2024, Choices for Youth received $2.1m worth of donations (15% of total revenue) and $7.0m worth of government funding (52% of total revenue). Administrative costs are 11% of total revenue less investment income and fundraising costs are 18% of donations, meaning CFY’s overhead spending is 29%. For every dollar donated, 71 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.

In F2024, CFY spent $9.5m on its programs – a 7% increase from $8.8m spent on its programs in F2023.

At the end of F2024, CFY had $3.1m gross and $2.0m net reserve funds (cash and investments). Ci backed out $1.2m worth of interest-bearing loans from its gross reserve funds. Its net reserves can cover 21% or around two and a half months of its annual program spending.

Profile updated by Julian Dranitsaris on June 2, 2025. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.

Questions or thoughts on this profile? Contact jdranitsaris@charityintelligence.ca.