Non-profit organizations struggle during COVID-19

COVID-19 has impacted many people and workplaces, including non-profit organizations. One of the many impacts these organizations have had to deal with during these times is being hit with financial struggles and barriers.  

Before COVID-19 most non-profit organizations had a budget set for each year, so they could plan out how and where they spend the money made. However, since the pandemic, owners and workers have had to overcome the obstacle of re-thinking their whole budget so it can last them the entire year.  

Since non-profit organizations donate and use all the money they make to help the public, they have had to change the way their budget is spent.  

Organizations of all types have had to adapt with COVID-19, including The Salvation Army Centre of Hope. They found the biggest change in their budget came from a lack of fundraising.  

“Like many other community organizations, our budget has been severely impacted,” said Gabrielle Roberge, the administrative coordinator for the organization. “This is due to the lack of programs we are able to safely operate due to the pandemic and the restrictions.” 

The Alzheimer Society of Windsor and Essex County is an organization that provides support services for clients and their caregivers who are afflicted with dementia. They make a yearly income of about $3.5 million. But, due to COVID-19, the organization was forced to set a new budget to cover their needs.  

“We spend the money on supplying services to clients through respite and our day away program and then we support our caregivers through education and counseling,” said John Dominato, director of finance for the organization. “But our fundraising and donations has been hit dramatically. I’d say it has been about a 60 to 70 per cent reduction, because most of our fundraising is face to face.”  

United Way is another non-profit organization in Windsor with a yearly income of around $5 million, but they have also had to change their spending during COVID-19.  

“We focused on the gaps from government services,” said Andrew Bothamley, VP of finance and operations for United Way/ Centraide Windsor-Essex County. “That comes back to things like food, mental health and after school programs for kids that are helping to be successful in school. We look where the gaps are, and we figure out how to work with other partners and then we fund programs to do that.”  

Another obstacle that some organizations faced during the pandemic was not being eligible for government funding towards their budget.  

“We had some funding shortfalls at the beginning,” said Bothamley. “But we also had a Covid response fund, so we had new dollars coming in that was specifically marked for Covid. But keeping those meant that we weren’t eligible for some of the government funding because revenue was increasing at a time of year when it would normally decrease, but it still left a gap.”  

To donate or determine if you can volunteer during COVID-19, check out non-profit organization websites for more information.