Time for change
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Fundraising professionals urge the creation of a single secretariat for the charitable sector
Canada’s nonprofit sector makes up 8.4 per cent of GDP – more than oil and gas – and provides 2.7 million jobs, yet it continues to suffer from a Cinderella syndrome, unrecognized for its important place in the country’s economy and lacking representation at the highest levels of government.
With an increasing number of Canadians turning to charities for help in the face of rising prices, high interest rates and stagnant incomes, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Canada believes it’s time for a change.
An Ipsos poll for CanadaHelps.org late last year showed that 22 per cent of respondents – 27 per cent of men and 18 per cent of women – said they would access charitable services within six months to meet their food, clothing and shelter needs.
“Having a cabinet minister whose mandate would include advancement of the charitable sector would certainly help raise public awareness of the importance of the sector to Canada economically and socially. ”
AFP wants to raise awareness among Canadians of the importance of the nonprofit sector to the country’s social and economic well-being and has urged the federal government to act on its 2021 statement of support and create a secretariat for the charitable sector within an existing government department. Responsibility for the sector is currently split between several government departments, which can mean its interests are not adequately represented in policy decisions.
Dane Bland, Toronto-based head of development at Rainbow Railroad, a charity that helps LGBTQI+ people escape state-sponsored violence around the world, says a single secretariat would help raise the charitable sector to the level of national importance that it deserves.
“Having a cabinet minister whose mandate would include advancement of the charitable sector would certainly help raise public awareness of the importance of the sector to Canada economically and socially,” he says.
Vivian Smith, an independent nonprofit consultant and former AFP Global board member, agrees.
“The government seems to perceive the charitable sector as an afterthought rather than an important partner at the table along with industry and government representatives. That’s why many Canadians regard the charitable sector as a distant cousin because they don’t realize the important part it plays in society and the economy,” she says.
Ms. Smith adds that people recognize the roles of government and the private sector, but tend to see the charitable sector as an optional piece rather than a serious player in the economy and in communities.
“The state of the economy is always attributed to the performance of the public or private sectors and not the charitable sector even though it’s a vigorous part of the economy,” she says.
Mr. Bland says the sector also faces challenges in raising awareness because of the local nature of much of the charitable work in Canada and the narrow focus of many donors.
“People in need of our services often look for support in their local communities, and when our work is local it can be difficult for people to see the bigger picture. Many donors tend to support only one or two of their favourite causes and may not be aware of how broad the sector is,” he says.
Changing demographics are another reason why the charitable sector needs to raise its public profile to engage younger generations of Canadians, adds Mr. Bland.
“The state of the economy is always attributed to the performance of the public or private sectors and not the charitable sector even though it’s a vigorous part of the economy. ”
“As our population ages, we are seeing increasingly larger donations from an increasingly smaller number of people,” he says. “Eventually that population who are highly charitably engaged are going to age out, and we are going to have to face the fact that young people are less charitably engaged and charitably active than their older counterparts, and that’s an awareness issue.”
Ms. Smith says while younger people today face the same financial challenges as their parents and grandparents did, their attitude towards charitable giving is different and is based more on lifestyle than economic constraints.
“They don’t join a service club and stay involved for 40 or 50 years,” she says. “My experience with younger donors is that they will give quickly and immediately to something powerful like a disaster and then move on to something else. So charities are consistently and constantly needing to be in front of those younger donors to help build a pattern of philanthropy.”
Cutting through the clutter of social media also presents a significant challenge to some charities aiming to raise their public profiles, says Mr. Bland.
“Trying to raise awareness amidst all of that noise is either very expensive or very challenging, and sometimes it’s both,” he says. “Promoting their causes through social media is not cheap, and many charities don’t have the budget to do it.”
Ms. Smith says technology to communicate with donors is now essential.
“Technology is central to the way we work, live, play and communicate. If an organization doesn’t have the financial capacity to invest in it, they are starting to be left behind,” she says. “Donors have a certain level of expectation around how they will be communicated with and how personalized that communication will be. They want to have access to things like crowdfunding platforms, and if charities are not able to provide them, donors go elsewhere.”
To view this report on The Globe's website, visit globeandmail.com
To view the full report as it appeared in The Globe's print edition: Philanthropy in Canada