Canada’s health charities expect to raise less than half of their normal funds this year because of COVID-19. The financial hit means delays in disease research and fewer supports for people with a variety of illnesses.
Canadian health charities are seeing donations drop by as much as 50 per cent as the COVID-19 pandemic has derailed the usual fundraising activities, resulting in less money to pay for research grants and support clients in need. 2:06
Canada’s health charities expect to raise less than half of their normal funds this year because of COVID-19.
The pandemic has led to the cancellation of many in-person events that charities rely on for fundraising, and the financial hit means delays in disease research and fewer supports for people with a variety of illnesses.
The Health Charities Coalition of Canada is an umbrella group of national health charities that typically host walkathons, galas and other major fundraising events which raise around $650 million a year. Its members report that revenues have fallen more than 50 per cent as physical distancing requirements during the COVID-19 crisis curtailed those events.
Tammy Moore chairs the board of directors of Health Charities Coalition of Canada and is CEO of ALS Canada, where she says the decline in donations has delayed getting mobility chairs, hospital beds and ceiling lifts to help people with ALS, who can experience progressive paralysis over the span of two to five years before death.
“This has been so critical because caregivers are seeing an increased burden as the personal support workers ar