Trends in Community Needs and Resource Allocation Patterns in the Charitable Sector

Justification of research project

This research aims to systematically explore the nature of registered charity programs and resource allocation patterns within Canada’s charitable sector that are serving community needs by: 

Identifying current and evolving community needs that exist within Canada that charities aim to serve; 
assessing types of charity programs/services being operationalized in the sector and the degree of public and philanthropic resources they are receiving from governments (i.e., municipal, provincial and federal) and charitable foundations, and; 
exploring funding gaps emerging within the charitable sector based on public and philanthropic resource allocation patterns identified. 

A mixed methods approach will be used to address the research aims previously noted. Publicly available information (i.e., annual and statistical reports and T3010 data) will be analyzed to understand communities’ critical needs and the degree of funding allocated by public and philanthropic funders (i.e., governments and charitable foundations) to address these needs.  

Research purpose

The purpose of this research project is to determine the extent to which registered charities across Canada are funded by governments and charitable foundations and to what degree funding patterns shift over time in comparison to documented needs the charitable sector aims to address.

Research approach

Environmental Scan  

An environmental scan of community needs within the charitable sector will be undertaken. Relevant public reports (i.e., open government reports, community well-being index reports, etc.) and literature on the charitable sector will be reviewed and synthesized to establish historical and current community needs that may be addressed through programs and services offered by registered charities within the charitable sector.  

Trend Analysis  

A trend analysis will be undertaken using registered charity information return data (i.e., T3010 data) collected by the Canada Revenue Agency. An analysis of this data will help to identify programs/services being offered by charities in the sector, the degree of public and philanthropic resources they receive, potential funding gaps or shortages that may exist based on if charities serving specific program/service areas experience deficits more often than others, overarching funding patterns and shifts in the sector as a whole.