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Policy priority: Core Funding

collage of charities
Policy priority: Core funding to support nonprofit missions, resilience and impact

The federal government frequently relies on the sector to deliver crucial programs and services but very rarely allows nonprofits to use its funding to cover essential core costs.

Why it matters

Nonprofits, like businesses and government, have basic core operating costs such as insurance, rent, and computers that they must cover in order to function. When nonprofits are reliant on project-based funding and cannot access core funding to cover these essential costs, it negatively impacts the quality of services they can offer their community, the employment conditions of nonprofit workers, and the long-term sustainability of their organizations.

Did you know?
  • Jumping from one project-based contract to another shifts the focus away from developing and improving the quality of programs and services or building organizational sustainability. Ultimately, this negatively impacts the communities that nonprofits serve. 
  • 77% of nonprofit workers are women, 47% are immigrants and 34% are racialized and Indigenous people. The prevalence of short-term project funding and underfunding leads to low wages, few benefits and precarious work for our diverse workforce.
  • Core funding is a crucial tool to help the nonprofit sector prepare for and weather crises, such as public health emergencies and economic downturns, when communities need the sector more than ever.
Impact stories
We’ve gathered stories from nonprofit leaders across the country about the concrete impact that a lack of core funding has on their organizations, their workers and the communities they serve. 
Our Ask
  • Reclassify 30% of all current project-based funding that is destined for charities and nonprofits to be eligible as core funding.
  • Improve project-based funding as recommended in the 2019 Catalyst for Change Senate Report. 
  • Take an equity approach to the provision of core funding to address historical inequities.
Advocacy
In November and December 2022, more than 900 individuals participated in a letter campaign that asked the government to make core funding for nonprofits a priority in Budget 2023. Thank you to everyone who participated in this campaign! We’ll continue to advocate for core funding throughout the year. If you’re interested in learning more or getting actively involved, please reach out to us at publicpolicy@imaginecanada.ca
Learn More

Imagine Canada, 2023

Imagine Canada, 2023

Imagine Canada, 2022

Imagine Canada, 2022

Imagine Canada, 2022

The Conversation, 2022

Imagine Canada, 2020

Imagine Canada, 2020

Canadian Women’s Foundation, ONN, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and Kathleen Lahey with contributions from Imagine Canada, 2020

Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector, 2019 - recommendations 10, 11 and 12

The Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2009

Independent Blue Ribbon Panel, 2006

Canadian Council on Social Development, 2005

The Philanthropist, 2004

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