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By David Opinko

Alberta’s non-profits struggling with high demand, low resources, staff mental health

Jan 21, 2021 | 12:20 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A new report from the Alberta Nonprofit Network (ABNN) shows that many non-profit organizations are struggling to manage the mounting challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABNN summarized data collected from 500 nonprofits and charitable organizations across the province, with surveys conducted between October 26 and November 6, 2020.

While these groups face a wide array of operational challenges, the one most commonly experienced (51.8 per cent) said staff mental health.

This was due, in part, to the increased staff stress and workload.

“Alberta nonprofits are somewhat used to dealing with financial ebbs and flows, but COVID-19 is different from anything we’ve experienced before,” says Mike Grogan, CEO and President of IntegralOrg and part of the team leading the ABNN survey.

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“From health and safety concerns, to vanishing funding streams, to ever growing need and complexity, nonprofit staff have been dealing with a lot – all while working remotely and managing their own personal stresses. Concerns about staff mental health are pervasive across the sector.”

The second key trend highlighted in the report was that non-profits are working in more complex environments.

In addition to the challenges of simply providing their regular services, respondents said they are struggling with access to fewer resources, higher demand, and losing capacity.

The third trend noted is that many organizations noted that financial resources will be the most integral part of their operations over the next 12 months.

Approximately 74 per cent of those surveyed reported that their revenues decreased or significantly decreased over the course of the pandemic. Just 11 per cent saw an increase in revenue.

In order to accommodate for lower revenues, many organizations have had to dip into their reserves and/or issue layoffs.

Much of what is in the report reflects a provincial perspective, but Amanda Jensen, Executive Director of Volunteer Lethbridge, gave her take on the pandemic’s impacts to the city.

“Nonprofit organizations do so much to improve the quality of life for a community, and many organizations – particularly social services – are now serving greater populations with fewer resources. Art and sport organizations are under stress in pivoting programming and face unknowns about what their programming might look like post-pandemic. Many are overwhelmed by uncertainty”.

The full report from ABNN can be found here.