Good Shepherd Centre Hamilton is a 3-star, financially transparent charity with a Good impact rating. It has a below-average C results reporting grade with 26% overhead spending. For every dollar donated, 74 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1961, Good Shepherd Centre Hamilton (GSCH) builds and operates emergency shelters, transitional housing, and clinics for those in need across the city of Hamilton. It is also involved in shelter diversion, counselling, outreach, and other homelessness prevention programs. According to the charity, rising demand for its services forces it to turn away those in need.

GSCH runs four programs: Emergency Services, Homelessness Prevention, Health Programs, and Children & Youth Mental Health. It spent $67.4m on its programs in the March 2025 fiscal year (F2025).

Emergency Services was 52% of GSCH’s program spending and includes shelter construction projects and operations, as well as services offered at its shelters (meals, clothing, and hygiene products). In F2025, the charity housed 84 families at the Good Shepherd Family Centre, housed over 50 families at Regina’s Place, and provided over 87,00 people clothing and groceries at its shelters. GSCH did not report standardized metrics such as the occupancy rate, average length of stay, or bed nights across its shelters at the time of this profile update.

Homelessness Prevention was 23% of GSCH’s program spending. GSCH offers counselling services at its shelters with the goal of reducing homeless recidivism. The charity’s outreach team travels across Hamilton and refers those in need to its services. GSCH is also involved in shelter diversion – it refers its clients to specialized services, reducing demand for emergency housing. GSCH did not report any quantified metrics associated with this program at the time of this profile update.

Health Programs was 20% of GSCH’s program spending. GSCH operates clinics and assisted living facilities for seniors, as well as palliative care for families suffering from debilitating health conditions. In F2025, the charity reported 9,555 visits at the Good Shepherd Health Clinic. The charity also provided end of life care for 86 people.

Children & Youth Mental Health was 5% of GSCH’s program spending. GSCH provides specialized youth services such as substance abuse treatment, mental health support, and specialized housing. In F2025, GSCH housed 133 youths at the Notre Dame House.

Good Shepherd Centre Hamilton is financially transparent as of 2025. This means at least two years’ worth of its audited financial statements are publicly available on its website.

GSCH shares common management and transfers funds to Good Shepherd Non-Profit Homes Inc. (GSNPH) – a separately registered charity that builds and manages property on behalf of GSCH. Accordingly, Ci consolidated the audited financial statements of both charities when completing this profile update. This report will henceforth refer to the combined financial information from both charities.

GSCH’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing – a best practice. This means it clearly separates its expenses into program, administrative, and fundraising activities.

In F2025, GSCH received $4.9m in cash donations (5% of total revenue) and $66.1m in government funding (73% of revenue). It also received $7.8m worth of donated goods in F2025 (8% of revenue).

Administrative costs are 4% of total revenue less investment income and fundraising costs are 22% of cash donations. Its 26% total overhead means that for every dollar donated, 74 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

GSCH spent $67.4m on its program in F2025 – a 23% increase from $54.6m spent in F2024.

GSCH spent $11.7m on capital projects in F2025 reflected by its capital expenditures. In particular, GSCH opened an 80-bed shelter in F2025 (Barton Tiffany).

At the end of F2025, the charity had $11.3m gross and ($25.5m) net reserves. Ci backed out $36.8m worth of mortgage debt from its gross reserves. Excluding debt, its reserves can cover just under two months of its annual program spending.

Profile updated by Julian Dranitsaris on July 31, 2025. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.

Questions? Contact jdranitsaris@charityintelligence.ca