The safety net is tearing: B.C. non-profits are in crisis

More than 200 leaders are sounding the alarm: Without support, many vital organizations will not survive

By Rowan Burdge (BC Poverty Reduction Coalition), Anastasia French (Living Wage Campaign), Zahra Esmail (Vantage Point), and Iglika Ivanova (BC Society for Policy Solutions)
Originally published in the Vancouver Sun on September 16, 2025

The non-profit sector is in crisis.

B.C.’s safety net — including running food banks, health care and housing programs — is fraying as public systems fall short.

Non-profits are not just service providers, they are economic and social engines. In B.C., community non-profits contribute $4.2 billion in GDP and employ over 90,000 people, more workers than the mining, oil-and-gas and agriculture industries combined. Yet the sector is often dismissed and undervalued.

Because of this crisis, more than 200 B.C. non-profit leaders have signed an open letter to funders with an urgent message: Without support, many vital organizations will not survive.

The crisis is happening. PACE has already closed its doors. Many others are on the brink, relying on temporary contingency plans, reducing programming and cutting staff. A 2024 report from Vantage Point, the convenor of the B.C. Non-Profit Network, paints a stark picture: 50 per cent of survey respondents are aware of at least one to five non-profits that have closed in the previous 12 months.

Small, grassroots organizations are especially vulnerable, particularly those led by and serving marginalized communities. They often provide the only support for people navigating stigma, poverty and systemic violence. And they are most likely to be excluded from mainstream funding channels.

The root of this crisis lies in how non-profits are funded.

Across Canada, funding typically comes from a patchwork of government contracts, foundation grants and private donations. And it is often short-term, project-specific and highly restrictive.

Worse, application and reporting processes can be long and complex, pulling staff away from delivering services and forcing organizations into constant fundraising mode. It often pits organizations against each other to compete for limited funding.

An example: A major B.C. foundation issued a rare call for multi-year unrestricted funding. Over 1,600 non-profits applied. Only 37 grants were awarded, chosen partly by lottery, leaving over 1,550 organizations with nothing to show for hours of work. Those of us lucky enough to receive funding are relieved and grateful but concerned for our peers.

Instead of continually chasing innovation through pilot projects, non-profits need investment in what works. Many effective community organizations have been underfunded for decades. They don’t need reinvention. They need investment.

Non-profits don’t run on good intentions alone. Behind every service and program are people working long hours, underpaid and overextended. Most non-profit workers are highly skilled and deeply committed, but passion doesn’t pay rent and one in three non-profit workers is food insecure.

The average salary in this sector is 31 per cent lower than the national average. For women (most non-profit workers), the gap is even worse. Imagine Canada shows women in the sector earn 17 per cent less than men.

The consequences of this crisis are grave: people leave, organizations lose institutional knowledge and service quality declines. Waitlists grow. Programs disappear. And the people who rely on non-profits are the ones who suffer most.

This crisis is the result of decisions and structures — so it can be fixed.

Funders must act now. Foundations, governments, philanthropists, labor unions and businesses all have a role to play to ensure long-term, flexible, unrestricted funding that covers core costs and keeps up with inflation.

Administrative processes must be simplified. The time spent preparing grant applications and reporting should not exceed the amount of the grant. Reducing red tape frees up time and energy to deliver the work that matters.

Non-profit work is essential. So, funders must invest in the workforce with living wages, benefits and professional development. People cannot be asked to solve society’s hardest problems while living precariously.

If B.C. is serious about building a province where no one is left behind, then we must save the sector. We must listen to the organizations that hold our communities together. The safety net is tearing and we cannot afford to ignore the rip.