COVID-19 created a volunteer deficit, inflation is keeping it there
Inflation is preventing volunteerism from returning to pre-pandemic levels despite an increased need for services
Many non-profits rely on volunteers to keep operations running. (Unsplash/Ismael Paramo)
The non-profit sector in Canada provides critical services and products our communities rely on — filling in gaps in government services including aid for the unhoused, food banks, halfway houses, health products, baby formula, and more.
Demand keeps climbing as people struggle with inflation, perpetuating rising costs of living, and stagnant wages.
According to a Statistics Canada report, 42 per cent of the general public was served by the non-profit sector last year, making up the largest percentage of the groups primarily served by these organizations. The report also highlighted that demand for these services goes beyond what organizations can keep up with.
Despite initiatives like “National Volunteer Week,” an annual campaign by Volunteer Canada to get more people involved in volunteering in their communities, it has still been a challenge for organizations to get people back into the time-giving spirit since the disruption created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The volunteer deficit created by COVID-19 has yet to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels, and the reason seems to be the economic downturn and heightened cost of living experienced in the years since 2020, pointing to a negative relationship between volunteer rates and inflation.
Statistics Canada data from 2022 found 65 per cent of non-profit organizations say they experienced a volunteer shortage despite actively recruiting volunteers.
Coincidentally, that year inflation in Canada was at a 40-year high at 6.8 per cent compared to 3.4 per cent in 2021 and 0.7 per cent in 2020.
In 2023, Quebec — a province with inflation at 4.5 per cent, the country’s highest rate — also saw non-profit organizations have an average of 23 volunteers, which is the lowest number of all the provinces. Comparatively, Ontario, the province with the highest number of volunteers per organization, at 44, had an inflation rate of 3.8 per cent.
This year is still looking grim, and despite the appearances of inflation cooling, organizations are facing increased demands and expenses, with 55 per cent still reporting fewer volunteers than before the pandemic, according to Volunteer Canada.
While it can be said that the volunteer deficit was created by the pandemic due to health concerns, people staying home, and many needing to focus on navigating the challenges of living through COVID-19, inflation in the years since has prevented volunteerism from returning to pre-pandemic levels.
The main speculated reason is people who are now needing to work multiple jobs to cover their living expenses cannot afford to sacrifice more time to volunteer. Many of these people, rather, rely on programs provided by non-profits to get by, but cannot contribute themselves.
In 2022, Meals on Wheels, a program that delivers nutritious meals to homebound people, shut down in South Surrey after serving the community for more than 50 years, citing a lack of volunteers and inflation as the main culprits. Consequently, the people who suffer the most are those who rely on programs like Meal on Wheels.
It’s a terrible double-edged sword when the non-profit sector is essential to the Canadian economy and cannot run its programs without volunteers, but the high cost of living means increased demand for services and fewer volunteers available to make it happen. This leaves programs at risk for being shut down altogether.
The bottom line is that volunteerism will not return to pre-pandemic levels until the cost of living does too.
