Strike still hurting charities

Empty envelopes with stamps affixed to them are stacked up at Freedom’s Door.

The Kelowna charity, which has been helping men achieve a sober life for the last 20 years, put out a news release Wednesday, saying the Postal Strike is deeply affecting their bottom line.

“For charities, the end of the year is a prime time to communicate with donors and philanthropists, as they consider their charitable donations, prior to the year end deadline,” Tom Smithwick, director and volunteer for Freedom’s Door said.

“We ordered our Christmas cards and our donation brochures. We purchased the steps and prepared the envelopes. Then the strike happened. We are now left with many hundreds of stamped and addressed envelopes in boxes.”

Having waited, they are now aware that a major fundraising opportunity has evaporated and they’re asking people to consider other ways to give to they charities they care about.

“The difficulty for charities is that they are left struggling to provide the needed service to the poor, the sick, the needy. How do we overcome this challenge?” Smithwick said in a letter.

Smithwick wrote that he would hope that donors see fit to go to their website or physical address to give.
Freedom’s Door is not the only charity suffering from the strike.

Other charities have reported that revenue in 2024 is down compared to 2023.

Troy McKnight with Kelowna's Gospel Mission says, "I can confirm that charities across Canada are reporting being down 15-18 per cent due to the postal strike. We continue to have a number of donors who prefer to give by cheque through the mail and these donations are not coming in at the same rate as last year."

The Salvation Army has said holiday donations are down 50 per cent since the Canada Post strike began, amounting to a drop of roughly $9.3 million in seasonal giving compared to this time last year.

Mail-in gifts are “the bedrock” of the Army's fundraising efforts, said spokesman Lt.-Col. John Murray, but its postal campaign has essentially ground to a halt during the labour dispute, which coincides with the busiest time of year for the charity.

Around 65 per cent of the Salvation Army's annual fundraising occurs between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, roughly two-thirds of that by mail.

- with files from the Canadian Press