Policy Priority: Data for effective decision making

Collage of nonprofit and community activities, including food bank volunteers, students, and community programs

Policy priority: Data is needed for effective decision making for and by our sector

A lack of economic, organizational and employment data on the nonprofit sector means that public policy, funding and organizational decision making is done without basic information.

Why it matters

Good policy is informed by strong evidence. The lack of data on the nonprofit sector collected by the federal government hinders the ability of policymakers at all levels of government to make sound policy decisions about our sector. The nonprofit sector itself also lacks comprehensive data on who we are as organizations, critical human resources data on nonprofits and charities, and essential macroeconomic sector data.

Did you know?

There is currently no publicly available list of all nonprofit organizations in Canada, and no comprehensive source of information about how many organizations there are, where they are located, who they serve, or what they do.
The sector lacks critical labour market data on both charities and nonprofits, leading to an inability to conduct labour force planning and understand basic facts related to workforce composition, skills and compensation.
Statistics Canada does not have a mandate to collect data about the nonprofit sector, unlike for many other industries of similar or smaller size.

Our ask

Recommendation 1: Maintain funding for existing key nonprofit data products including:
- The Satellite Account for Nonprofit Institutions and Volunteering and its associated Human Resources module
- The General Social Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating
- The Canadian Survey of Business Conditions (on a reduced, biannual data collection schedule)
- The tax-filer donation dataset
Recommendation 2: Ensure enhanced federal nonprofit data collection results in high quality, accessible data without creating excessive administrative burden

Please see the 2026 pre-budget submission of the Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition for more details.

Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition

The Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition is an advocacy group with a membership including representatives of nearly 50 nonprofits. The Coalition advances the nonprofit sector's priorities relating to data collected by the federal government. If you’re interested in learning more about the Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition or joining, please get in touch at [email protected].

Learn more

Letter on the cancellation of the Canadian Survey of Business Conditions

Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition, 2026

Submission to the 2026 Federal Pre-Budget Consultations

Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition, 2026

Letter on the expansion of online filing for charities

Imagine Canada, 2026

Submission on the expansion of reporting by nonprofits

Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition, 2026

Submission on the expansion of reporting by nonprofits

Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition, 2025

Submission to 2025 Federal Pre-Budget Consultation

Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition, 2025

Addressing the Nonprofit Data Deficit: A 25 Year Review

DARO, 2024

What newly available data tells us about cybersecurity in Canadian nonprofits

Imagine Canada, 2024

Submission to 2025 Federal Pre-Budget Consultation