Transparency in numbers

In June, Statistics Canada released the preliminary findings of their annual survey of giving and volunteering in Canada. The Blackbaud Institute also released its annual report on the status of Canadian Fundraising. Both reports indicate similar themes, and, they are not good. For example, the number of Canadians donating has declined by about 3 million since 2018. When you think of it, the demand on charities across the country has increased substantially since 2018. Unfortunately, this is not a new trend. Over the past decade, the percentage of Canadians donating has dropped from 82% to 54%. 

Why does this matter? Organizations like Unison provide a lot of needed charitable services and programs in Southern Alberta. In a typical year, some level of government provides us with grants or contracts that cover about 45% of our operational costs, allowing us to provide all that we do for seniors in the community. 

You might ask where the rest of the money comes from. Unison News is one of those sources of revenue. Advertisers pay for a spot in Unison News each month, and these revenues pay the salaries of the staff who create the paper. Any profit we receive funds our programs. 

We refer to Unison News as a social enterprise, and if you like what we are doing, please support our advertisers. Obviously, we are highly reliant on donations. If you are one of our cash donors, thank you for supporting what we do.

Before 2020, we did not have programs to address seniors’ food insecurity. Now, every year, we give away over $400,000 worth of food in Calgary alone. Most of that food is donated to Unison. We run an Elder Abuse Shelter, and we operate Elder Abuse prevention and outreach services in Calgary and Medicine Hat. In Calgary, the government grants us about a million dollars to operate the Elder Abuse Shelter, but we also rely on another million dollars a year from our donors to fund this vital service. In 2019, our total revenue from all sources was about $3.9 million. We spent all that money (actually a little more…) delivering programs and services for seniors. I started working here in January 2020 and since then, we have had a greater and greater demand for services to support seniors. This year, our total revenue is projected to be over seven million dollars which we will use to provide additional services and programs for seniors. We are quickly closing in on doubling the revenue we generated and spent before the pandemic on the delivery of programs. We are thankful to our new donors and our long-term supporters. 

Each week, between 60 - 70% of the donations we receive come from our members. These members already buy an annual membership, and they spend money on fees to attend programs and groups. They use our services, but they also donate so that other older adults can benefit from what we do. We appreciate the generosity of members who donate their money and time volunteering to make things better for other older adults in Southern Alberta. 

Even if you don’t use our programs, we would love your support. In Medicine Hat, we run a Meals on Wheels program. The international Meals on Wheels body works with a number of universities to study the benefits of these programs. There is a good body of research that suggests that you should be interested in seniors’ nutrition and food security because it is a highly cost-effective way to reduce health care costs where you live. So even if you don’t see yourself as needing or using our services, you might want to donate to improve your access to health care and reduce your taxes. Well, that is probably too big a promise for me to make - but maybe I’ll promise that we’ll be here when you need us.