Capacity vs. Demand: An Ongoing Struggle for Canadian Charities
With lingering effects of the pandemic and rising costs of living, a growing number of Canadians depend on charitable services. In 2023, Ipsos reported that 1 in 5 Canadians were accessing charitable services, with 7 in 10 of these individuals doing so for the first time. This surge in demand puts charities under pressure to scale their services to address the needs of their communities despite facing limited resources.
Challenges in service capacity and demand are widespread in the charitable sector. In 2022, the Ontario Nonprofit Network reported that 86% of nonprofits in Ontario were either scaling back services, increasing waitlists, or discontinuing programs altogether in response to staffing challenges encountered during the pandemic. By 2023, Statistics Canada reported a mixed response among registered charities, with 29% increasing capacity, 12% decreasing, and over half (52%) facing rising demand for their services.
Most recently, the Charity Insights Canada Project (CICP) data from 2024 reveals a complex landscape. While some charities are striving to expand their reach, others face significant barriers to growth, and some have even reduced capacity in recent years.
Changing Service Capacity Over the Last Few Years
As of May 2024, 57% of charities report an increase in capacity over the last few years. Younger charities, that have been in operation for 15 years of less, are more likely to report an increase in capacity in the last few years (69%) compared to their more established counterparts – particularly older ones with 42+ years in operation (48%) (see figure below). These results however are mixed, as a significant portion (22%) of charities report a decrease in capacity in recent years.
Changes in capacity differ across different charitable service sectors as well: those dedicated to the relief of poverty, providing community resources, or delivering health care are slightly more likely to have increased capacity in recent years than charities in other sectors (see table below)
| Service Sector | Increased Capacity | No Change to Capacity | Decreased Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relief of Poverty | 62% | 18.5% | 19.5% |
| Community Resource | 62% | 18% | 20% |
| Health Care | 63% | 24% | 13% |
| Public Amenities | 51.5% | 24.5% | 24% |
| Arts | 47% | 26.5% | 26.5% |
| Advancement of Religion | 43% | 19.5% | 37.5% |
| Advancement of Education | 50% | 28% | 22% |
| Other Purposes | 58% | 21% | 21% |
Demand Exceeds Capacity for Most Charities
Despite many charities having improved their capacity, 74% of CICP survey panellists indicated that their charities are still facing higher demands for services than they can meet. This issue is more prevalent for larger and urban charities. Just over 75% of charities located in urban areas report a higher demand for services than they can meet, and 20% indicate that demand is roughly equal to capacity. In contrast, 68% of rural charities face higher demand, and 26% report demand equals capacity. 79% of larger charities (annual expenditures over $229,000) report demand for services exceeds capacity, compared to 64% of charities with lower annual expenditures.
Across different types of charities, the trend of demand outpacing capacity holds, although charities whose purpose is the relief of poverty, providing community resources or health care are more likely to be experiencing demand that is outpacing capacity. These are the same types of charities who are also more likely to have already increased their capacity in recent years.
| Service Sector | Demand Higher Than Capacity | Demand Equals Capacity | Demand Lower Than Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relief of Poverty | 80.5% | 16.5% | 3% |
| Community Resource | 77% | 21.5% | 1.5% |
| Health Care | 77.5% | 16.5% | 6% |
| Public Amenities | 66% | 27% | 7% |
| Arts | 66% | 26% | 8% |
| Advancement of Religion | 62% | 29.5% | 8% |
| Advancement of Education | 62% | 29.5% | 8.5% |
| Other Purposes | 81.5% | 13.5% | 5% |
Plans to Increase Capacity
As demands are rising so too are plans to increase organizational capacity. Roughly two thirds of charities surveyed by the CICP have plans to increase their capacity:
- 7.5% have plans to significantly increase capacity.
- 58.5% plan to increase capacity.
- 31.5% have no planned changes.
- 2.5% plan to decrease capacity.
- 0% plan to significantly decrease capacity.
Margin of error 3%, 812 responses (Excludes ‘Not sure’ and ‘N/A’ responses)
Out of the charities with plans to increase capacity, 22% have experienced a decrease in capacity in recent years. Of those that have increased their capacity in recent years, 63% of them have plans for further increases.
Larger and urban charities were slightly more likely than smaller or rural charities to have plans to increase capacity:
- 69% of urban charities have plans to increase capacity, compared to 56% of rural charities
- 70% of larger charities have plans to increase capacity, compared to 61% of small and medium charities.
Since these are the charities more likely to experience demand for services outpacing capacity, these findings indicate that organizations are actively striving to meet identified needs within their communities.
Moving forward
The survey findings from the CICP illuminate the complex challenges faced by Canadian charities in balancing capacity with demand. While many charities have successfully increased their capacity in recent years, a significant proportion still struggle to meet the growing demand for their services, particularly in urban areas and in essential social service sectors such as poverty relief, community resources, and healthcare. There is an urgent need to address the challenges charities are currently facing with surging demand for services. Greater investments and supports would ensure that charities are able to provide essential services to those in need.
Author
Figures created with: The jamovi project (2022). jamovi. (Version 2.3) [Computer Software]. Retrieved from https://www.jamovi.org.
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