Overwhelmed, underfunded, uncertain and concerned. While B.C.'s non-profit sector is more essential than ever, as it bridges critical program and service gaps in the public system, it's doing so in extremely difficult times. Yet there's also optimism and a sense of value in working toward equitable and thriving communities.
That's the take away from the most recent State of the Sector report from the Victoria Foundation and its partners. The series is a collaboration between Vantage Point, Vancouver Foundation, the City of Vancouver, Vancity Community Foundation, United Way BC, and the Victoria Foundation.
The latest in a series of reports initiated during the pandemic, Under Pressure: 2024 State of BC’s Non-Profit Sector explores how non-profits and charities in Greater Victoria and throughout the province are faring.
Two themes emerged from this year's study: Increasing operating costs paired with reduced revenue, and skyrocketing demand for services that has left teams stressed and burned out, and susceptible to high staff turnover.
For example, a whopping 84 per cent of respondents reported that their overall expenses increased over the last 12 months, with 80 per cent of organizations also reporting increased expenses compared to before the pandemic.
Essentially non-profits are having to do much more, with less.
It's not a small issue. B.C. is home to approximately 33,019 non-profit organizations providing a vast range of services, from youth and mental health programs to cultural and environmental initiatives. And their impacts reach beyond the services they provide. Together, these non-profits represent 360,000 jobs and a contribution of approximately $30 billion to B.C.’s economy in 2022.
So, what are some solutions? The report authors offer some suggestions:
- Boost sustainability of the sector workforce: Establish a collaborative working group that includes representatives from the sector, government agencies, funders and other key sector stakeholders to create a non-profit labour force strategy.
- Implement funding reforms: Ask funders to implement a flexible administrative fee of up to 30 per cent, empowering grant recipients to determine the specific percentage required to run programs; offer multi-year funding agreements embedded with inflationary increases; and establish a formal funders' collaborative to advocate for and implement funding reforms, share trust-based practices and collectively address the funding challenges within B.C.'s non-profit sector.
- Nurture a collaborative ecosystem: No one organization can do this alone. Encourage B.C.’s non-profit sector to develop cross-sector partnerships; establish information-sharing platforms; coordinate training and development; and align data collection efforts.
To learn more about how you can get involved to support the capital region's non-profit sector, connect with the Victoria Foundation at victoriafoundation.bc.ca