Election season is upon us, and with it, comes the launch of Nonprofit Vote. It’s a chance for us to use our collective voice to make non-profit sector issues election issues.  

With a provincial election on the horizon, we call on Alberta’s parties to include the 1 out of every 20 Albertans working in the sector in their platforms – and the 4.4 million Albertans who benefit from it. 

Non-profits employ nearly 300,000 Albertans and contribute $5.5 billion to the economy every year. Non-profits provide food and basic needs, settlement and senior supports, sports and recreation, arts and culture, entrepreneurship, environmental health – and more. They are proven, established partners in the delivery of essential services.  

But between historic underfunding, a global pandemic, inflation, and surging demand along with a workforce crisis, Alberta’s non-profit sector is in crisis.  

Our sector – its employees, volunteers and beneficiaries – has a responsibility to speak up about the issues that matter to us. If we stay silent, we let other sectors drive the agenda and we may not see meaningful commitments on issues that matter to us.  

The non-profit sector needs a recovery plan along with a long-term strategy to set the sector up for success in the 21^st century.  

The Nonprofit Vote partners – consisting of the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, FUSE Social, The Edmonton Chamber of Volunteer Organizations, Volunteer Lethbridge and the Rozsa Foundation – have developed 5 priorities that all provincial political parties must include in their 2023 election platform to ensure a strong and robust non-profit sector in Alberta. They include:  

• A Workforce Strategy. Undertake a labour market study and strategy to stabilize the non-profit workforce through addressing recruitment and retention concern. 
• Better Data Collection. Collaborate on data collection to ensure government and non-profits can be more effective through data informed action. 
• A Door to Government. Explore the creation of a dedicated space in government to share challenges, successes & opportunities, with renewed partnership from the Government of Alberta to address them. 
• Appropriate Funding. Provide $300 million over 3 years for non-profits to address the impacts of the pandemic, inflation, and historic under-resourcing to ensure this essential sector is here for Albertans.  
• An Empowered Sector. Make dollars go further by streamlining funding and sharing decision-making with non-profits on the most effective allocation of government funds. 

If you agree that Alberta’s non-profit sector is too essential to fail, join us in calling on candidates and party leaders to incorporate these priorities into their platform. 

#nonprofitsvote