Ottawa Humane Society is a financially transparent 4-star charity. It has a results reporting grade of A-, which is above average. For every dollar donated to the charity, 60 cents are available to go to the cause. This is outside Ci's reasonable range for overhead spending.

Founded in 1888, Ottawa Humane Society (OHS) runs programs to improve the well-being of animals in Ottawa. The charity provides medical care for animals, helps reunite lost animals with families, and cares for animals waiting to be adopted. It also runs camps for youth and provides educational animal resources.

At the time of this update, Ottawa Humane Society's 2025 annual report was not yet available. This program and results information refers to its 2024 annual report.

In its annual report, OHS breaks down its program spending into two main areas: Animal Care and Rescue and Education and Community Services. Charity Intelligence estimates OHS spent $5.7m on its programs in its fiscal year ending March 2024 (F2024).

Animal Care and Rescue received 81% of program spending in F2024. OHS provides veterinary care, food, and supplies to animals in Ottawa. The charity spayed/neutered 2,312 animals in 2024. It also conducted 634 dental procedures and microchipped 221 pets. OHS veterinarians performed 2,463 surgeries on homeless animals. OHS reports that in total, it helped 6,685 animals in need.

Education and Community Services received 19% of program spending in F2024. The charity reports it distributed 18,840 kilograms of food to animals through its Emergency Pet Food Bank in F2024 .OHS runs educational programs to build people's compassion for animals. The charity reports it reached 6,653 children through school presentations and camps in F2024. It also reports that 942 people attended its online pet behaviour webinars and 126 people attended its pet first-aid courses. 379 people attended its pet loss support groups in F2024.

Placement rate is the number of animals that are placed in homes or transferred to other organizations, rather than remaining at a shelter. OHS reports its placement rate was 100% for healthy cats and dogs in F2024. Its placement rate for unhealthy cats and dogs that will not recover but are likely to have a satisfactory quality of life was 98%. Of animals brought to the shelter in F2024, 78% left alive. OHS only euthanizes animals that have serious medical and/or behavioural issues and will not recover.

Ottawa Humane Society’s audited financial statements follow a combination of line-item and activity-based costing, which is not a best practice. For basic information, like spending on programs, fundraising and administration, one has to refer to OHS's annual T3010 filings. These figures do not exactly reconcile with the audited financial statements. Ottawa Humane Society's annual T3010 filing for F2025 was not yet posted at the time of this update. As such, the figures shown here for F2025 come from its audited financial statements and will likely be restated to be consistent with the T3010 data.

In F2025 OHS received $10.3m in donations and special events fundraising ($10.9m in F2024). In F2024 OHS received $1.5m in City of Ottawa government funding to run the animal shelter. OHS's audited financial statements do not disclose government funding as a major revenue source. For F2025, government funding is likely included in the Fees for Service category.

Ottawa Humane Society spent $2.8m on fundraising and raised $10.3m in donations. This is a fundraising cost of 27%. OHS spent $1.7m on its admin and support services. This is 13% of total revenues. OHS spent 40% on overhead in F2025. As such, for every dollar donated, 60 cents is available to go to the cause. This falls outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

In F2025 OHS spent $8.3m on its programs and grants to other charities, which is 57% of its revenue. It has an operating surplus of $1.7m. With the F2024 surplus of $3.1m, Ottawa Humane Society spent $5.0m on land. 

Ottawa Humane Society drew on its reserve funds and a $3.2m mortgage to purchase the land. At the end of March 2025, it had $17.6m in reserve funds (cash and investments). The reserves can cover 211%, or two years and one month of program costs. In F2025, the annual return on investment for OHS was 7%. Its five-year annual return on investment is 6%.

In F2024, OHS paid external fundraisers $304k who collected $154k in donations. This means it cost OHS $1.97 to raise $1 using external fundraisers. It is more cost efficient to directly donate to the charity.

Of note: Ottawa Humane Society restated its T3010 data for F2024. This restatement corrected its administrative spending from $3.3m to $1.6m due to incorrect cost allocations. Its F2024 fundraising costs were restated higher by $560k. 

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

Updated on June 20, 2025, by Grady Simpson and updated on August 27, 2025 by Kate Bahen.