Charities in N.B. report lower year-end giving during Canada Post strike
CBC
Some New Brunswick charities are reporting significant declines in end-of-year giving as a result of the recent strike by workers at Canada Post.
They're anxious to see whether an extension of the deadline to make donations for the 2024 tax year will help make up for it.
"With 85 per cent of our donations received through the mail, we were significantly impacted by the postal strike," said Melanie Langille, president and CEO of N.B. Lung.
The health promotion group's appeal for donations during the holiday season usually generates more than half of its annual fundraising revenue, she said.
Mail-outs usually reach donors in late November, said Langille, but 2024's only began arriving in early January.
The Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation confirmed it has taken a hit from the postal strike.
"The total number of gifts across all programs, between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, was down by 25% year-over-year," Sarah Peiser, the foundation's director of communications, said in an email.
Revenue from direct mail donations declined by 57 per cent compared to the previous year, she said.
To ease those effects, federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced in late December that the deadline for claiming charitable donations on tax returns would be extended through to the end of February.
The hospital foundation is hoping to see a boost during its winter campaigning.
It's raising money for two apheresis machines, used for cancer treatments and stem cell transplants, in a six-week campaign culminating in a radiothon Feb. 13. Once that's over, they'll talk up the end-of-February tax receipt deadline, said Peiser.
N.B. Lung mobilized this week to inform donors of the extension, said Langille, who has high hopes for January and February donations.
"We know that income tax deductions are a motivator for many people to donate to charities," she said.
Other New Brunswick charities, like the New Brunswick SPCA, were still tallying year-end receipts and holding off on any focused campaigning in light of the announced extension.
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