The postal strike is of great concern to charities and foundations which usually count on the period preceding the Holidays to stock up on donations.
Published at 5:00 a.m.
In a joint press release, Les Petits Frères, the DPJ Youth Foundation, the Literacy Foundation and the Marie-Vincent Foundation invite people to take the lead in making their annual contributions, because postal solicitation is not possible for now.
These four organizations fear financial losses of several hundred thousand dollars and estimate that they will seriously compromise their “capacity to maintain their essential services in 2025”.
President and CEO of Petits Frères, Catherine Harel-Bourdon notes that donations for her organization “mostly arrive by mail and during the holiday season.”
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The President and CEO of Petits Frères, Catherine Harel-Bourdon
Last year, some $400,000 arrived in the mail between November and January.
Catherine Harel-Bourdon, President and CEO of Petits Frères
“Seniors are counting on us to break their isolation and loneliness,” insists the woman whose organization prepares, among other things, major Christmas and Easter celebrations and short vacations for poor elderly people.
The impact of the postal strike is multiple, say the four organizations. They cite delays in receiving check donations, disruptions in direct mail solicitation campaigns, delays in the delivery of items purchased to support organizations and a general decrease in contributions.
“The young people we help are among the most vulnerable. The strike jeopardizes our ability to increase our support to offer them,” worries Fabienne Audette, president and CEO of the DPJ Youth Foundation.
To raise awareness in Ottawa about the consequences of the walkout, the four organizations wrote a letter to the offices of the Minister of Labor and Seniors, Steven MacKinnon, and the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Jean-Yves Duclos, as well as to the leaders of the opposition.
Make a donation by phone or online
The organizations hope that Quebecers will show support for them and that they will consider making their donation without waiting for a request by mail.
Online donations to charities can generally be made through their secure websites. Donations by telephone or at the offices of NPOs and foundations are also generally possible.
The four organizations standing together are far from alone in their situation. According to the Association of Professional Philanthropists, more than 30% of annual donations made by Canadians are concentrated during the holidays.
Imagine Canada, whose mission is to provide support to charities and non-profit organizations, also invites Canadians to support them during these particularly difficult times. The postal strike “comes at a time when many parts of the sector are struggling to cope with the confluence of rising operational costs, an increase in demand, and a shortage of labor and volunteers” .
And no, charities don’t rely on email solicitations, as Imagine Canada states. “Despite the rise in popularity of online giving, traditional methods, such as checks and mail campaigns, remain essential channels for many organizations. »
