Welcome back to the #WeekendReads series! On Fridays the Oakville Community Foundation will share reports, data and information to help you stay informed when it comes to the community, the charitable sector and more. Click here for previous installments.
GIVEOakville is Oakville’s only online crowdfunding campaign to help local charities in the Oakville and Halton area. We’re halfway through the campaign and there’s been some wonderful support so far, but as we’ve shared before, the needs are much greater as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. More support is needed!
Can you help? If you can, you’ll notice that we’ve updated how you can review the work of the charities – they’re now listed in six different cause categories. We know everyone has their causes they care about, so we wanted to help you explore the causes and aid in making your choices, while also benefiting from knowing all the charities listed in GIVEOakville are Certified Efficient.
Explore the causes here:
Arts, Culture & Heritage
These charities have been some of the hardest-hit throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and have faced decreases in both revenue and capacity.
In 2020:
- Arts, Culture and Heritage charities received only 7% of donations in Canada
- Nearly 1 in 4 charities did not receive a single donation with Arts-focused charities taking the biggest hit
- The sector saw 43% of these charities pause or cease operations
Give back to local Arts, Culture and Heritage charities today
Children, Youth & Families
The public health measures, while beneficial, have been extremely difficult for families to deal with and have affected school, childcare, extra curricular activities and more.
Throughout the pandemic:
- There has been decreased physical activity, increased screen time, negative mental health impacts, increased behavioural problems and increased isolation
- Children, Youth & Families-focused charities received 41% of all donations
If this cause is important to you, give back today
Ready to give back?
Community
Community charities fulfill aspects of every sector and every cause to offer support and opportunity to the populations they serve.
Over the last year:
- Online giving increased by 86%, but giving overall declined
- Charities have seen an increase in demand and have done their best to serve the community in the face of decreases in donations, revenue and volunteers
Support charities in the Community cause today
Education & Employment
Many Education and Employment focused charities took their programming virtual as a way to continue to connect with the community and offer as much help and as many learning opportunities as possible.
- The NEET rate (not in education, employment and training) among youth 15-29 reached 24% — the highest recorded rate in the last 20 years
- 54% of Education charities noted an increase in demand, but 44% indicated a decrease in capacity
- 72% of Education & Employment charities have seen a decrease in donations
Help neighbours in their Education & Employment opportunities
Environment & Animal Rights
These charities have struggled to move their programs virtually as many activities — such as tree planting or working with animals — can only be done in person.
As a result:
- 50% of environment, animal rights and other charities have seen their revenue decrease and 66% have seen their donations decrease
- Animal Rights charities received 6% of online donations
- Environment-focused charities received 5% of online donations
Support the Environment & Animal Rights through GIVEOakville today
Health & Wellness
Health-focused charities have been under particular pressure as the size of the populations they serve grew and demand outpaced their organizational capacity throughout the pandemic.
This means:
- 89% of these charities saw a decrease in donations and 60% saw a decrease in overall revenue
- 64% said that they saw a decrease in volunteer numbers due to physical distancing and testing requirements
- Health charities saw some of the fastest growth in online giving
Give back to the charities that support our Health & Wellness today
We hope this #WeekendReads piece helps you understand why GIVEOakville is such an important part of charitable giving. COVID-19 has had an impact on every area of the charitable sector and every charity needs your help. When you give back through GIVEOakville, you’re supporting the most vulnerable in our community.
