The demise of non-profits

I’ve just read an article by Joanne Laucius in the Ottawa Citizen that came out yesterday predicting the demise of 20% of Canada’s non-profit sector. This economic tsunami running rampant over the globe is hitting our shores according to the Wellesley Institute.

If you feel that the media tends to sensationalize and bring us mostly bad news to capture our attention then this article hits the mark. While it is obvious that we are in a downturn and most obvious to those who’ve lost jobs and investments, it’s not the end of the world. The non-profit sector will survive…we could thrive if we followed the article’s advice and cooperated with each other.
The non-profit sector has grown faster than any other sector over the last few decades as the money has been flowing into foundations and government coffers. One wonders a bit about the ratios between needs and funding, but that’s a different analysis.

If you read through some of this blog you can see that I’ve advocated for non-profits to work together for years with the idea that they could be a dominant force for positive social policy change in government. I’ve advocated that the solution lies with shared technology.

Maybe this downturn will force some efficiencies and more non-profit organizations will look at ways of joining together. If the non-profit sector took the initiative to work collaboratively and had a single voice or set of voices speaking the same tune and representing the whole sector, the political and moral power of the sector would be enormous.