Nonprofit Industry Overview

Last Updated: July 5, 2024

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Key Takeaways

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Sources of funding received by nonprofit organizations in British Columbia, 2023
Source: Statistics Canada (2024, March 20). Table 33-10-0798-01 Sources of funding received by non-profit organizations, 2023 [Data table]. https://doi.org/10.25318/3310079801-eng 
  • In British Columbia, the largest proportion of nonprofits are dedicated to sports and recreation (38.7%), followed by religion (18.4%) (Statistics Canada, 2024c). Registered charities and other nonprofit organizations are about equally represented in BC (50.5% and 49.5%, respectively).
  • The largest source of funding for registered charities are individual donations (42.2%), whereas the largest source of funding for other non-profit organizations are membership fees or dues (40.2%) (Statistics Canada, 2024d). 
  • Over four-fifths of nonprofits use volunteers, and 26% of employees within community nonprofits work on a part-time basis as opposed to full-time (Canadian Knowledge Hub, n.d.-aStatistics Canada, 2024a)

Nonprofit Performance Snapshot

Nominal gross domestic product, non-profit institutions, by activity

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Nominal gross domestic product, non-profit institutions, by activity
Source: Statistics Canada (2024, March 28). Real gross domestic product, non-profit institutions, by subsector [Graph]. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240328/cg-c002-png-eng.htm 
  • In the fourth quarter of 2023, real GDP of nonprofits serving households grew 1.1% while real GDP of nonprofit institutions serving businesses rose 0.9% (Statistics Canada, 2024b). Household-serving institutions are likely experiencing increased reliance because of “a faster rise in cost-of-living compared with income gains of the lowest-income households” (Statistics Canada, 2024b, para. 2). 
  • GDP of non-profit institutions serving governments slightly decreased in the last quarter of 2023, but the GDP rose by 3% throughout the entire year (Statistics Canada, 2024b). This is the largest increase in 2023, with nonprofits serving households rising by 1.6% and nonprofits serving businesses rising 2.0%. 

Nonprofit Outlook

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Relative growth of revenue sources by subsector
Source: Canadian Knowledge Hub for Giving and Volunteering. (n.d.) Relative growth of revenue sources by sub-sector, 2007 to 2021 - BC (2007 = 1.0) [Graph]. https://app.givingandvolunteering.ca/nonprofit_sector_revenue_2021 

Nonprofit Trends and Challenges

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Obstacles over the next three months
Source: Statistics Canada (2023, November 27). Table 33-10-0726-01 Business or organization obstacles over the next three months, fourth quarter of 2023 [Data table]. https://doi.org/10.25318/3310072601-eng 
  • “In 2023, close to half (46.1%) of non-profit organizations reported increased demand for services or products,” but capacity to meet this demand has increased at a slower rate (Statistics Canada, 2024a, “Overall demand” section).
  • In the last quarter of 2023, close to 70% of polled non-profits reported that they anticipate cost-related obstacles in the next four months (Statistics Canada, 2023). Donors are giving less money, and nonprofits are struggling to find new donors (Barr & Jensen, 2024a). Proposed changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax would likely exacerbate this issue, as high-income individuals would have less financial incentive to donate. 
  • In terms of opportunities, nonprofits are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) at a similar rate to profit-driven businesses, with “7% of nonprofits say they’re already using AI, and 4% say they’re planning to use it” (Barr & Jensen, 2024b, para. 2). AI will likely be used for content creation, data-driven decision-making, and customer experience improvement. 

Sources

Barr, C., & Jensen, E. (2024a, January 30). What trends will impact charities and nonprofits in the first quarter of 2024? Imagine Canadahttps://www.imaginecanada.ca/en/360/what-trends-will-impact-charities-and-nonprofits-in-the-first-quarter-of-2024 

Barr, C., & Jensen, E. (2024b, May 9). What trends will impact charities and nonprofits in the second quarter of 2024? Imagine Canadahttps://www.imaginecanada.ca/en/360/what-trends-will-impact-charities-and-nonprofits-in-the-second-quarter-of-2024 

Canadian Knowledge Hub for Giving and Volunteering (n.d.-a). Nonprofit labour force compositionhttps://app.givingandvolunteering.ca/nonprofit_labour_force_composition_2021 

Canadian Knowledge Hub for Giving and Volunteering (n.d.-b). Nonprofit sector revenuehttps://app.givingandvolunteering.ca/nonprofit_sector_revenue_2021 

Statistics Canada (2023, November 27). Table 33-10-0726-01 Business or organization obstacles over the next three months, fourth quarter of 2023 [Data table]. https://doi.org/10.25318/3310072601-eng   

Statistics Canada (2024a, March 20). National Insights into Non-profit Organizations, Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, 2023. 

Statistics Canada (2024b, March 28). Non-profit institutions and volunteering: Economic contribution, first quarter to fourth quarter 2023. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240328/dq240328c-eng.htm 

Statistics Canada (2024c, March 20). Table 33-10-0753-01 Percentage of total non-profit organizations, 2023 [Data table]. https://doi.org/10.25318/3310075301-eng 

Statistics Canada (2024d, March 20). Table 33-10-0798-01 Sources of funding received by non-profit organizations, 2023 [Data table]. https://doi.org/10.25318/3310079801-eng 

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