Today, CanadaHelps released the sixth edition of The Giving Report, an annual look at the charitable sector and the state of giving. This year’s Report identifies a wide range of issues and challenges relating to the state of giving in Canada. The unprecedented growth in demand for charitable services, compounded with inflation and revenue shortfalls, signals the emergence of severe challenges in the charitable sector.  

Key Findings: The Giving Report 2023

• 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.
  
• 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. 

“This year's report makes it abundantly clear that many Canadian charities are beginning to buckle under the strain of increased demand for services and stalled revenues, and we are now at a point where the majority of charities cannot meet demand,” says Duke Chang, President and CEO of CanadaHelps. “Canadians can support charities impacted by these challenges by going back to volunteering, recognizing the need for donations to fund capacity building, and being part of the change by advocating for their favourite causes to their elected representatives.” 

Download the full report here. 

About The Giving Report 2023

The Giving Report 2023 brings together critical insights and analysis from several data sources. To help Canadians understand the challenges charities are facing and the importance of their giving, CanadaHelps commissioned Nanos Research to conduct an online survey. Completed by 2,948 charity professionals representing 2,860 unique charities representative of all types and sizes, the study provides an authoritative look at the state of the charitable sector today.  The report also uses the vast volumes of CanadaHelps’ online giving data, which includes more than $438 million in donations from more than 962,000 Canadians in support of 30,400 charities across Canada in 2022 alone. Environics Analytics provided analysis and insights into demographic, financial, psychographic, and behavioural trends in CanadaHelps data. Imagine Canada provided deeper analysis and data verification of various data from the Canada Revenue Agency. 

About CanadaHelps

CanadaHelps is a charity advancing philanthropy through technology. For Canadians, it powers CanadaHelps.org, a safe and trusted destination for discovering and supporting any charity in Canada, along with UniteforChange.com, where Canadians can learn about causes and easily support the collective work of charities addressing a cause they care about.