Non-profit sector in 'dire straits,' says Ontario Nonprofit Network

A recent survey by the Ontario Nonprofit Network found that, across the board, demand for service is increasing while resources available to non-profits are diminishing.

Between May and June of this year, nearly 1,500 non-profits, charities and grassroots groups across the province responded to the survey, which asked about financial health, staffing, volunteers, as well as general operations.

Challenges tended to be worse for non-profits in the north.

"What we heard across the board was that there was an increase in demand for services," said Cathy Taylor, the network's executive director.

In every sector, Taylor said demand was up, revenue was down and fundraising hasn’t recovered since the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, inflation has taken yet another bite at the sector.

"So really three difficult pieces of data that really paint the picture that the non-profit sector is in dire straits,” she said.

Non-profits in Sudbury are feeling the pinch, said Mary Lou Hussak, executive director of United Way North East Ontario.

"With United Way being the largest funder for social services second only to the government, we see this all the time," Hussak said.

"This past year we had double the number of applications for funding but we can only support half."

Hussak said statistics in our region are scary: 21,000 or 12.8 per cent of residents live in poverty.

“One in five of our children in Sudbury are living in poverty," she said.

"One in seven households in Nipissing and Parry Sound and 13 per cent of residents in Cochrane are food insecure … The expenses of groceries right now is astronomical, you know, and so people were living close to poverty before and now with the increases, they're finding that they can’t make it so they’re accesses services.”

While the picture is bleak, Taylor said there is a lot that can be done to help the situation.

“Certainly increased philanthropy donations are always helpful, but also government needs to change some things up at the system level," she said

"Change the way funding is paid, make it more flexible, and include inflation costs. Create a workforce development strategy just like other sectors like the skilled trades, and also a volunteer strategy so we can try to recoup some of those volunteers back.”