Hard Hit: Toronto

Posted on 24. Oct, 2009 by Jeremy in News, Reports

Hard Hit is a new report from the Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO) documenting the one-two punch affecting nonprofit community social service agencies in Ontario – an increasing demand for services and lost revenue from funding cuts driven by the economic downturn. The provincial report is available here.

The Toronto Story

One hundred and thirty-five Toronto agencies took part in this survey of more than 400 Ontario nonprofit community social service organizations, representing one-third of the total. This bulletin provides a summary of the Toronto-specific results of the study.

Download the full Toronto bulletin in PDF format.

Toronto Highlights

  • 56.4% of agencies reported that their service demands had mostly increased since September 2008 (when the downturn began)
    • 80.3% of these agencies attributed the increase, primarily or in part, to the
      economic downturn
  • Among agencies reporting on key programs and services facing increased demand:
    95.8% had an increase in the number of clients requesting service, 50.7% reported more crisis management and less time for preventative programming and 29.6% experienced more complexity in the needs of community members they serve
  • 50.7% of agencies reported being unable to respond to increased service demands despite employing many strategies such as expanding service with the same staff, increasing reliance on volunteers and reallocating admin dollars to pay for programs
  • 55.8% of agencies experienced a funding cut compared to 32.7% that received a funding increase from at least one revenue source – more cuts are expected in 2010
  • Funding cuts from private donors, self-generating sources such as fees and the United Way/community foundations were most common and further cuts in these areas were anticipated in 2010
  • Agencies are taking a variety of actions to address the cuts – serving more people with the same staff and ramping up fundraising efforts topping the list
  • Two out of five agencies are using their reserves to pay for affected programs
  • Agency coping strategies are not sustainable over the long-run
  • Despite recent ‘green shoot’ sightings, the people’s recession rages on with Toronto’s unemployment rate in the double digits as of the Fall 2009, suggesting further challenges for communities and service providers on the road ahead
  • Government action is needed to fortify vital community services and public supports

Recommendations

  • All levels of government initiate discussions with key stakeholders to identify reforms and investments needed to shore up sector capacity and sustain and strengthen communities;
  • The federal and Ontario governments introduce dedicated social infrastructure funds to support a nonprofit job-creation
    strategy that will create jobs and expand social support programs for affected communities; and
  • The federal government improve eligibility and timely access to Employment Insurance, and the Ontario government improve benefits and access to social assistance programs.

(see last page of the Toronto Report for full recommendations)

Tags: , ,