Shepherds of Good Hope is a 4-star, financially transparent charity with an average B results reporting grade and an Average impact rating. Its reserves can cover just under five months of its annual program spending. Its 23% overhead means that for every dollar donated, 77 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1983, Shepherds of Good Hope (SGH) builds and operates emergency shelter and supported transitional housing programs for Ottawa’s homeless and precariously housed populations. Clients first enter SGH’s emergency shelters after being referred by the charity’s outreach teams before entering into SGH-operated transitional housing.  According to the charity, over 12,000 people living in Ottawa are on social housing waitlists, with a further 200 people in the city living on the streets each night.

SGH runs three programs: Supportive Housing, Shelter Services, and a Community Soup Kitchen and Drop-In Centre. It spent $18.0m on its programs in the March 2024 fiscal year (F2024).

Supportive Housing was 40% of SGH’s program spending ($7.2m) and includes its portfolio of seven community apartments (422 units total) located across Ottawa. In April 2025, the charity opened the 216 Murray Street building – a 48-bed apartment where residents receive daily living assistance from the charity’s caseworkers. SGH does not report common supportive housing metrics such as the number of residents currently housed, occupancy rate, how long residents live in supportive housing before transitioning to independent living, and the types of supports received.

Shelter Services was 26% of SGH’s program spending ($4.7m). The charity operates three emergency shelters (maximum 240-bed capacity) across the city. In F2024, SGH provided 89,203 nights of shelter to 2,136 unique individuals and reported an average 91% occupancy rate across its three shelters.

Community Soup Kitchen & Drop-In was 34% of SGH’s program spending ($6.2m). The charity operates two drop-in centres where those in need receive life skills coaching, meals, and attend community events. In F2024, the charity provided 151,620 meals to those in need.

Shepherds of Good Hope receives grants from the Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation, a separately registered charity established in 2004 that acts as the operating charity’s fundraising arm. Accordingly, Ci consolidated the financial statements of both charities for the following analysis (henceforth known as SGH).

SGH’s audited financial statements do not clearly separate expenses by program, administrative, and fundraising activities (line-item costing). This is not a best practice. As such, Ci referred to its T3010 filings with the CRA when reporting expense activities.

In F2024, SGH received $4.9m in donations and special events revenue (15% of total revenue) and $23.9m of government funding (74% of revenue).

Administrative costs are just under 13% of total revenue and fundraising costs are 11% of donations. Its 23% overhead spending means that for every dollar donated, 77 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

SGH spent $18.0m on its programs in F2024 – a 22% increase from $14.8m spent in F2023.

At the end of F2024, SGH had $10.6m gross and $6.5m net reserves (cash and investments). Ci backed out $4.1m of interest-bearing debts from its gross reserves. Its net reserves can cover 36% or just over four months of its annual program spending.

Profile updated by Julian Dranitsaris on August 25, 2025. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.

Questions? Contact jdranitsaris@charityintelligence.ca