On 5 March Statistics Canada released a study Non-profit institutions and volunteering: Economic contribution, 2007 to 2017. Here are some highlights.
Community non-profit institutions, which accounted for 16.4% of the economic activity in the non-profit sector, would include genealogical and family history societies. Business non-profit institutions accounted for 10.4%. The most significant portion of non-profit activity (73.2%) came from government non-profit institutions, such as hospitals and universities.
In 2017, community non-profit institutions received nearly one-third of their income from governments (30.8%). Sales by these non-profits contributed an additional 27.8% of income while donations from households made up 17.8%. Membership fees accounted for 14.1% of income while investment income and funds provided by businesses and other institutions each contributed less than 6%.
The table below compares those Stats Can community non-profit percentages to those for the Ontario Genealogical Society and Alberta Genealogical Society for 2017 from their annual reports to the Canada Revenue Agency. Both societies obtain less revenue from sales and donations than for the overall community non-profit institution sector.
| Revenue (%) | Stats Can | OGS | AGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| From Governments | 30.8 | 5.4 | 63.2 |
| Sales | 27.8 | 5.6 | 16.5 |
| Donations | 17.8 | 6.8 | 7.3 |
| Membership Fees | 14.1 | 33.1 | 10.7 |
| Investment and other | 9.5 | 49.2 | 2.3 |
The economic value of volunteering, not normally included in GDP, would add an extra $41.8 billion to overall economic activity in 2013. 23.7% of that ($468 million) was in the culture and recreation sector which would include genealogical and family history societies.
1 comment:
Very Interesting comparison of the OGS to the AGS. Does this speak to the entrepreneurship of the Alberta Society or the marketing thereof? How does the AGS manage to get so much from government funding? The OGS, even with recent rebranding, makes more off its membership than from other sources.
I'd like to see more comparisons of this type, John, as this article raises many questions, for all of us in our community volunteer sector. I suspect many genealogists volunteer for other local works, not just genealogical societies.
Gail B in St. C.
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