Canada Post employees and supporters rally at Canada Post headquarters in Ottawa, on Nov. 28.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
The planning began back in October. That’s when staff at House of Compassion, a Toronto charity that offers supportive, affordable housing to those with severe mental illness, finalized the design for their annual holiday card to send to potential donors. By early November, they’d printed the 400 cards and had started signing and stuffing them into envelopes. Then the Canada Post strike happened.
Since then, the holiday cards – which each year bring in a substantial portion of the small charity’s fundraising – have been sitting, unmailed, in the office.
“This is really the time of year that is most crucial for us,” said Ryan Tucker, the organization’s executive director. “Any dent in our fundraising program has a huge impact on our ability to deliver services.”
About a quarter of the charity’s $1-million budget comes from individual donations, he said – and about one-third of that is typically raised during the December holiday season.
Two weeks after 55,000 Canada Post workers first began the strike, charitable organizations across the country are sounding the alarm on the impact to their fundraising. The holiday season is a crucial time for charities, many of which depend on the generosity of the season to balance their budgets for the entire year.
“Donors may receive their donation requests too late, donations sent by mail may be delayed, and some donors may decide to delay making donations,” Jennifer Johnstone, chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Canada, said in a statement. “This could result in a major loss of funding just when it is most needed.”
Just days after the strike began on Nov. 15, the Salvation Army released a statement expressing its concerns about mail-in donations. Other organizations across the country – from the Ottawa Mission to the Calgary Health Foundation – have followed suit, and asked donors to switch to contributing online, in person or over the phone.
But for organizations like House of Compassion, Mr. Tucker said, donors are often older, and many still prefer to donate by personal cheque.
As of this week, there was no clear end in sight to the work stoppage. Negotiations between the postal service and its workers – who are striking over a wide range of issues, including wages, benefits and weekend deliveries – broke down on Wednesday. On Thursday, Canada Post confirmed that, in the meantime, it has been laying off staff and calling it a “temporary” measure.
At the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto, chief executive officer Neil Hetherington has been watching headlines on the strike negotiations closely.
“I’m looking at all the hopeful aspects. But with a pretty significant sense of concern,” he said. His organization was able to mail out its cards before the strike began, so there’s still a possibility that donations are in the mail, waiting to make their way to the food bank.
The holiday season typically brings in about $1-million in donations, he said. Since the strike started, they have seen a small uptick in online donations – “but not at levels needed.”
At the current pace, he said, they’re facing a potential shortfall of more than $680,000. Each dollar, he said, represents roughly one meal they won’t be able to provide.
Still, he added that he doesn’t blame the striking postal workers, or Canada Post. “You need a sustainable system,” he said. “And sustainability also means making sure that people who work there can afford to live in the communities.”
As for the pile of unsent cards sitting at House of Compassion, Mr. Tucker said he’ll likely have to send them through private courier – at roughly triple the cost of their normal postage budget. But he’s still holding his breath that that won’t be necessary.
“We hope that it’s resolved quickly,” he said. “Hopefully before the holidays.”