Although the Canada Post strike ended two weeks ago, officials at The Sharing Place say the organization is still more than $50,000 behind in holiday donations compared to this time last year.
The food bank, like other local non-profits, relies heavily on holiday donations to fund its budget through the year, many of which come through cheques that are mailed in. With the strike lasting from Nov. 15 to Dec. 17, The Sharing Place was also unable to send out its holiday donation reminders in the mail.
While some holiday donations have come since the strike ended, the figure is far behind last year’s numbers, officials said.
“The strike really just … eliminated the ability for us to send communications to our donors to remind them,” said executive director Chris Peacock. “We're around $50 – $60,000 behind where we were last year, which is challenging.”
It's not too late to make up the shortfall, he said.
“We're hoping people that were not able to support us as of yet are able to get their donations in.”
Peacock previously highlighted how demand at The Sharing Place continues to rise – with over 2,400 individuals accessing its services in November – and he said the food bank will likely reevaluate how it relies on Canada Post moving forward, to ensure it can receive donations to meet the growing need in the community.
“We'll be looking at how we use Canada Post moving forward, I'll be honest … and try to get more people donating online, more people donating monthly, and not be so dependent upon Canada Post over the holiday season,” he said. “The risk is just too high for our organization.”
Typically, over 50 per cent of The Sharing Place’s donations come during December, the majority of which are mailed in via cheque.
“Food insecurity is a 365-day problem, and we need to make sure our community is not so dependent upon that last month of donating in December,” Peacock said.
Given the strike’s timing near the end of the year, Peacock also expressed concern about donors being able to claim charitable donations on their tax returns for 2024.
However, this week the federal government announced the deadline for claiming charitable donations for 2024 will be extended to Feb. 28, 2025, given the broad impacts the postal strike had on non-profits.
Although they are currently behind in donations, Peacock said The Sharing Place’s fiscal year ends in June, and he hopes the food bank can find ways to make up for donations it has yet to receive over the holiday season.
“We've got time to make up for it, so it's not the end of the world by any means, because I'm quite confident we'll be able to get there,” he said. “It just means we need to get out and let the community know how much we're needed, and how much of an impact we're making.”
