It is the busiest time of year for the Central Okanagan Food Bank as it prepares to help hundreds of families this Christmas season.
It’s also the most critical when it comes to financial donations.
“The majority of our giving is the last six weeks of the year, 80 per cent,” said Trina Speiser, the food bank’s director of development.
But the ongoing Canada Post strike is having a major impact on the organization’s mail-in campaign.
“We do a direct mail-in campaign. We sent it out in November, a reminder was supposed to go out Dec. 8,” Speiser said.
Not only did that reminder not go out but those mail donations were not able to come in.
“I have the belief when mail is moving again, we are going to get those donations that we get in December maybe in January,” Speiser said.
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It’s a similar story for the Salvation Army Okanagan Central.
“We’re looking at essentially $300,000-ish that would normally come in through the mail,” said Capt. Jennifer Henson.
It is money the Salvation Army may not be able to tap into this year as it, too, works to support an unprecedented number of families.
“Some people mail it in because that’s their only option. It’s not that it’s as convenient for them but they can’t actually get out of the house, and maybe they’re not familiar with how to do an online donation,” Henson said. “So it’s a definite concern.”
At the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation office, the mail tray sits empty.
“It’s a little nerve-wracking,” said Chandel Schmidt, vice president of philanthropy for the KGH Foundation.
“It’s not optimal timing. We see definitely the highest volume of giving this time of year. We really count on this time of year for our support. We have grown to kind of expect it when people are feeling very generous, which we’re very grateful for.”
The situation is so concerning for non-profit organizations that the Association of Fundraising Professionals has sent a letter to Canada’s Labour minister urging Steven MacKinnon to take steps to ensure parties reach a quick resolution.
The letter reads, in part, “Many charities receive at least half of their annual donations during the final three months of the year, with December being the most important month. This postal disruption will severely impact charities’ ability to deliver essential services to Canadians and communities in need.”
“We’re just encouraging people to look for other alternatives to give, e-transfers, credit card donation online,” said Speiser.
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