CanadaHelps released the sixth edition of The Giving Report, an annual look at the charitable sector and the state of giving which highlights alarming new findings. The complete report is available online here.

Key Findings From The Giving Report 2023

The report identifies a wide range of issues and challenges relating to the state of giving in Canada and the health of the charitable sector. The unprecedented growth in demand for charitable services, compounded with inflation and revenue shortfalls, signals the emergence of severe challenges in the sector. The report highlights the following key takeaways:

  • Increased demand challenges charities. 40% of charities report higher levels of demand today than before the pandemic. 57% say they are unable to meet the current demand for their services, with 22% reporting that demand significantly exceeds capacity. Less than one-third say that demand is met with their organization’s current resources. As of October 2022, two in ten Canadians (22%) reported that they planned to access charitable services to meet essential needs in the next six months.
  • Funds raised are not keeping up with the demand for services and the rising costs of program delivery. The report finds that while most charities are unable to meet demand, funds raised are reported to be down for many charities. Less than half of charities surveyed (45%) report that funding levels are equal to pre-pandemic levels, while one-third (31%) say funding is below. Just 12% of charities report that their current fundraising results are higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The Giving Report 2023 also highlights that gifts from individuals, corporations, and other charities are all down, with significantly more charities reporting declines in donations across all key funding sources than those reporting increases. The net score (charities reporting a decrease less those reporting an increase) is a sizable concern at -30.7%, -19.3%, and -11.6% for donations from individuals, corporations, government, and charities, respectively. Gifts from government sources were the only funding source that had a positive net score of 4.3%.

  • Inflation intensifies demand for services and increases service delivery and staffing costs. From staffing to program delivery, charities are being critically impacted by inflation with challenges across their operations. 80% of charities report that inflation has impacted their service delivery costs, while funding has not increased to meet this demand. 44% say that staff salaries increased due to inflation, but without an increase in funding, the only option is to cut expenses at a time when Canadians need them most.
  • Fewer volunteers offering to help. Many charities continue to struggle to rebuild their volunteer programs post-pandemic, with 55% saying they have fewer volunteers than before the pandemic.
  • Staff burnout is a serious issue. After inflation, staff burnout was ranked as the second highest concern for charities today. Close to 60% of charities report they have the same number of paid staff working despite heightened service demands, while 15% say they have decreased staff since the pandemic started. Only 24% report more paid staff.
  • COVID funding is critical for recovery. Of the 56% of charities that relied on COVID-19 relief funding according to the survey, many at risk without it. 93% say the funding was important or somewhat important to their organization. Almost half (48.3%) categorize the risk posed to their organization from the loss of COVID relief funding from the government as moderate to high risk to their organization’s continuity.

For further details, download the complete report.