Non-profits struggle to survive

Local charities are struggling to survive– this is because public and private sector supporters want to see 100% of funds invested into program expenses and not administration, which includes wages and mileage.

Afton Conneely is the executive director of the Falls Brook Centre. She dedicates her time to environmental, social, and economic challenges, such as upcycling waste to produce sleeping mats for homeless shelters.

The Falls Brook Centre typically operates from direct donations and government subsidies.

Naturally, those stakeholders want to know their contributions are being used well. This usually comes down to a comparison of program costs vs. administration expenses.

Without understanding the bigger picture, this can lead to problems.

“Until banks accept IOUs from charities or they accept that okay, you’re a charity, you work for a charity, you don’t have to pay your mortgage, orgs and charities and non profits still need money,” Conneely shares, “It’s a boo topic. It’s an elephant in the room. It’s something a lot of people don’t want to hear.”

Somewhere like the Fredericton Homeless Shelter suffers even more since they cannot accept volunteers. This is due to the specialized needs of their clients, which requires special attention.

Many of the expenses at these institutions don’t fall under program expenses. These are simple things that help those clients feel empowered to rejoin the community, such as boots, toothpaste, and sanitary products.

Not everyone has money to contribute, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make an impact.

“There are a lot of little things that can be done, bottle drives, dropping off clothing donations. Have half-a-dozen of your friends in for a little party, or cocktail party and everybody drop a 20 dollar bill in a pot,” Warren Maddox is the executive director for Fredericton’s shelters, “As a taxpayer, it actually saves a lot of money to look after these simple needs. If you have to pay for a doctor to go in and deal with a guy that is gonna lose his toes or feet, that’s expensive. Where as, something as simple as having good quality socks and a good quality boot prevents that. So those are critical areas.”

Maddox suggests that it is critical for us to consider the bigger picture and break down that barrier of stigma.