Non-profit organizations are those that do not make a profit for their members. A not-for-profit company spends all of the funds it raises or receives on fulfilling its aims and sustaining its activities. 1 Many nonprofit organizations are tax-funded charities or other forms of public service organizations, and as such, they are exempt from paying most taxes. Money is not allocated to the owners, directors, or officers of a nonprofit organization.
The not-for-profit sector, also known as the non-profit sector, employs over two million people and accounts for about 8.5 percent of Canada’s GDP. Immigrants make up a large portion of Canada’s non-profit workforce.
Sure, many immigrants to Canada dream of making a huge splash with a big business and seeing extra zeros appear in their bank account – and no one should give up their dream – but Canada’s non-profit sector is another way to achieve your goals and maintain a decent standard of living while still making a positive social impact.
So, if you’re coming to Canada and thinking about volunteering or working for a non-profit organization, there are a few things you should remember.
Charities and nonprofits accounted for 8.5 percent of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2017, according to new data released today by Statistics Canada on the charitable and voluntary sector. This translates to $169.2 billion in added value to the national economy, up from 7.4% of GDP a decade earlier. The total number of people working by charities and nonprofits has risen to 2.4 million, up from 2.1 million in 2007.
In 2017, the nonprofit sector’s real GDP increased by 1.0 percent. This was fueled by 1.9 percent growth in government nonprofits such as hospitals and universities (see “Terminology” below). The GDP of community and business nonprofits, on the other hand, fell by 1.3 percent.
A non-profit organization, also known as an NPO, is a club, society, or community that operates solely for the purpose of social welfare, civic advancement, amusement or leisure, or some other purpose other than profit. Government non-profit institutions, such as hospitals, some residential care centers, universities, and schools, accounted for the majority of non-profit operations in Canada (73.2 percent) in 2017.
Community non-profit organizations made up 16.4% of the total non-profit sector in Canada. This includes organizations that provide social care, activism, or sports and recreation, for example. These organizations may be involved in social welfare, lobbying, or sports and recreation, for example. In conventional macroeconomic metrics, these are classified as “non-profit institutions serving families.
The remaining 10.4 percent of non-profit workers in Canada were held by business non-profits. Company associations, chambers of commerce, and condominium associations are examples of these. The non-profit sector in Canada is dominated by health and education. Here are some of the available jobs in the non-profit sector that one can apply for as these are easily available-
1. Community Non-Profit Board Director
2. Engagement Communications Facilitator
3. Non-Profit Accountant
4. Community Coordinator
5. Community Engagement Officer
Volunteer operations, despite their value, are usually not included in conventional macroeconomic metrics, so this slicing and dicing of Canada's non-profit sector exclude them. Volunteering initiatives would account for around a fifth of all non-profit GDP if they were deemed non-profit.
The average pay per work in the non-profit sector was $57,000 in 2017, the most recent year for which we have full data. This was marginally less than the average pay for the entire economy, which was about $59,800. (inclusive of nonprofit and for-profit jobs).
Employees in the government non-profit sub-sector, which is the largest within the overall non-profit sector, gained around $63,000 a year, followed by employees in the industry ($54,400) and community non-profit ($42,500) sub-sectors.
You may assume that Ontario has the most non-profit jobs in Canada, and you’d be right, but Nova Scotia has more non-profit workers as a percentage of the total labor force, with the other Maritime provinces of PEI and New Brunswick both exceeding the national average.
Despite the fact that Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta are home to some of Canada’s largest cities, these provinces have a lower proportion of non-profit jobs. In 2017, the national average was 8.5 percent.
