A Recovery Free Zone: The Unyeilding Impact of the Economic Downturn on Nonprofit Community Social Services in Ontario

This is a follow-up document to the Hard Hit report released in 2009. This report shows that despite 'green shoot' sightings of recovery in some areas of the economy, Ontario's nonprofit recession rages on.

A total of 311 nonprofit community social service agencies from across Ontario, providing a host of programs and services to a broad cross-section of communities and population groups, took part in the 2010 survey. This year's survey was expanded to include a survey of 33 non-governmental funders.

Some key finding are outlined below:

• 92% of agencies agree or strongly agree that the communities that they serve continue to be affected by the economic downturn
• 62% of nonprofit community social service providers experienced mostly an increase in demand for their programs and services over the past year since April 2009, with almost 80% attributing the increase in demand, primarily or in part, to economic conditions
• Among 208 agencies providing details about key programs with increased service demands, 91% reported an increased number of clients, 73% reported increase complexity of needs among their service user base and 54% reported doing more crisis management with less time for preventative programming

To read the whole report and view the media release click here.