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Policy priority: Help for nonprofits through COVID-19 and the recovery

woman putting on mask
Policy priority: Help for nonprofits through COVID-19 and the recovery

Nonprofits have played a crucial role during the COVID-19 crisis, but many have also faced financial losses and increased demand. They need support so they can continue to provide key programs and services as we recover from COVID.

Why it matters
The value of the nonprofit sector has never been more clear than during the COVID-19 pandemic. Communities turned to our organizations for everything from food aid and educational resources to shelter and childcare. However, many organizations experienced a drop in revenue at the same time as they face increased demand. Providing nonprofit organizations with support during this health and socio-economic crisis is key to ensuring that they’re able to continue to serve communities as we recover from the pandemic.
Did you know?
  • As of Spring 2021, more than 4 in 10 charities were still facing declines in revenue and among these charities, the average revenue decline is 44%.
  • Sources of unrestricted revenues (i.e. those that can be spent on core operating costs) such as donations and earned income have been destabilized by the pandemic. 
  • The diversity of the nonprofit sector is under threat. Larger organizations are more likely to be innovating and experimenting with new ways of carrying out their missions, while smaller organizations are more likely to temporarily cease operations.
Our ask
Current recommendations to the federal government:

 

  • Implement the Community Service Recovery Fund (CSRF), announced in Budget 2021. Ensure that all public benefit nonprofits and registered charities are eligible to receive funding through the CSRF on the basis of need. Provide organizations funded through the CRSF with an adequate amount of time to spend the funding in a way that allows them to truly adapt and build capacity. 
  • When creating additional COVID-19-related programs, whether focused on emergency support or the recovery, charities and nonprofits must be included. 
  • Additionally, the unique characteristics of the sector must be taken into account when designing these programs. We recommend that the government:
    • Ensure programs are designed to accommodate the unique revenue models of the nonprofit and charitable sector. 
    • Ensure programs targeting workers include support for independent contractors.
    • When offering relief to for-profit companies through tax credits, provide alternative relief measures to charities and nonprofits.
    • Ensure charities and nonprofits are included when designing programs for business enterprises. 

 

For more information on the characteristics to consider when designing emergency support programs please see our brief.  
Milestones
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonprofit sector has banded together to advocate for support. Together, we’ve achieved many notable milestones and victories, including: 

 

  • The creation of the $350 million Emergency Community Services Fund
  • The creation of the $400 million Community Services Recovery Fund
  • The inclusion of the nonprofit sector in the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. $3 billion had flown to registered charities through this program as of March 31, 2021. The amount of support that went to other nonprofits during that period is unknown.
  • The inclusion of the nonprofit sector in the Temporary Wage Subsidy for Employers
  • The inclusion of the nonprofit sector in the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and the lockdown support. $39 million had flown to registered charities through this program as of March 31, 2021. The amount of support that went to other nonprofits during that period is unknown.
  • The inclusion of the nonprofit sector in the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Subsidy
  • The inclusion of the nonprofit sector in the Canada Emergency Business Account
  • The inclusion of the nonprofit sector in the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program
  • The $31 million Canada Healthy Communities Initiative, which was available to charities, nonprofits, municipal governments and Indigenous communities
  • The inclusion of the nonprofit sector in the Canada Recovery Hiring Benefit
  • Targeted supports for food banks; seniors organizations; women’s shelters and sexual assault centres; mental health organizations; cultural, heritage and sport organizations; and more.
  • Increased focus on the nonprofit sector in Parliament; While prior to the pandemic, mentions of our sector in Parliament were few and far between, from March to December of 2020 there were more than 65 and there had already been more than 75 in the first 5 months of 2021.
  • The Minister of Families, Children and Social Development was given a mandate to “continue to work across government to ensure that charities and nonprofits have the tools that they need to modernize as they emerge from the pandemic to support the Government’s overall agenda in a manner that responds to the needs of Canadians in every region” in January 2021.
  • The House of Commons passed a motion calling on the Government to include measures to support the charitable sector in the 2021 federal budget with support from all four opposition parties in March 2021.
  • Budget 2021 recognized the nonprofit sector as a key partner in recovery and included numerous measures targeting nonprofits and charities
  • The inclusion of the nonprofit sector in the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (THRP) and the Local Lockdown Program.
  • The inclusion of the nonprofit sector in the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program (HHBRP)
Resources
Research and Insights

Imagine Canada’s Sector Monitor: The uneven impact of the pandemic on Canadian charities
Imagine Canada, August 2021

The ongoing COVID-19 experience of Canadian charities 
Imagine Canada, February 2021

Sector Monitor: Ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
Imagine Canada, February 2021

Sector Monitor: Charities and the COVID-19 pandemic
Imagine Canada, May 2020

Resetting Normal Report 1: Funding A Thriving Women’s Sector
Canadian Women’s Foundation, Ontario Nonprofit Network, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Kathleen Lahey with contributions from Imagine Canada, May 2020

Policy documents, statements and letters

Statement: Imagine Canada concerned changes to emergency measures will put pressure on nonprofit sector
Imagine Canada, 2021

Submission to the 2022 pre-budget consultation process
Imagine Canada, 2021

Submission to the 2022 pre-budget consultation process
Equitable Recovery Collective, 2021

Letter to the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister
Imagine Canada, March 29, 2021

2021 Pre-budget consultation submission
Imagine Canada, February 2021

7 actions to make CERS work better for nonprofits poster
Imagine Canada, March 2021

An agenda for an equitable recovery
The Nonprofit Recovery Collective, February 2021

Letter to the Prime Minister 
Imagine Canada, June 5, 2020

Letter to the Prime Minister 
Members of the People Centred Economy group, May 14, 2021

Statement on the creation of the Emergency Community Support Fund
Imagine Canada, April 21, 2020

Letter to the Prime Minister and other Ministers including endorsements and supporting quotations
Imagine Canada with endorsements from 200+ organizations, March 23, 2020

Letter to the Finance Minister and President of the Treasury Board
Imagine Canada, March 18, 2020

Letter to Prime Minister
Imagine Canada, March 11, 2020

Blog posts

Inflation Driving Up Demand And Costs While Creating Desperation
Imagine Canada, 2022

Priorities And Challenges For Nonprofits In The Second Quarter Of 2022
Imagine Canada, 2022

Priorities and challenges for nonprofits in the first quarter of 2022
Imagine Canada, 2022

Revisiting Budget 2021: The culmination of a remarkable year of nonprofit advocacy 
Imagine Canada June 28, 2021

Reflecting on a year of crisis and nonprofit advocacy
Imagine Canada, June 21, 2021

An agenda for equitable recovery: balancing economic outputs with social wellbeing outcomes 
Imagine Canada, April 8, 2021

Key insights from charities and nonprofits convening on federal COVID-19 support measures 
Imagine Canada, December 12, 2020

Updates on federal supports for charities and nonprofits 
Imagine Canada, October 21, 2020

Changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy 
Imagine Canada, September 11, 2020

Sector stories: how 7 nonprofits are changing their programs due to COVID-19 
Imagine Canada, June 11, 2020

Sector stories: 4 ways that COVID-19 is impacting nonprofit operations 
Imagine Canada, May 29, 2020

9 Ways charities and nonprofits are adapting to COVID-19 
Imagine Canada, May 14, 2020

Sector stories: revenue loss threatens survival of charities and nonprofits 
Imagine Canada, April 30, 2020

Charitable sector struggling to stay afloat: Imagine Canada on the CBC Power & Politics 
Imagine Canada, April 29, 2020

COVID-19: Strengthening partnership in a time of crisis 
Imagine Canada, March 30, 2020

COVID-19 and the charitable sector 
Imagine Canada, March 13, 2020

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