Canada's voluntary sector is vibrant but future threatened.

OTTAWA -- Canada's non-profit and voluntary sector is one of the largest and most vibrant in the world, but its future vitality is threatened by changes in government funding policies, by a

* drop in volunteers, and

* stagnant donor pools according to a report from Imagine Canada, The Canadian Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector in Comparative Perspective Report, which is part of the John Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project.

But the voluntary sector in Canada, which was compared with similar sectors in 36 countries, has a number of "unique features," including a significant impact on the Canadian economy and an emphasis on delivering direct services, according to the report.

The non-profit and voluntary sector is an economic force in Canada, that accounts for about 6.8 per cent of the GDP, or even greater at 8.5 per cent of the GDP when the value of volunteer work is included. Even when the one percent of organizations that encompass hospitals and post secondary institutions are excluded, the remaining organizations contribute 4.0 per cent to Canada's GDP.

As well, the sector's influence on employment is particularly significant, since the entire sector employs as many full-time workers as all branches of manufacturing in the country and even though one third of the sector's workers work in hospitals, universities and colleges, those employed in the rest of the sector account for nine per cent of the country's working population.

In addition, Canada's nonprofit and voluntary sector is not only "the second largest in the world when expressed as a share of the economically active population," but it also relies more on paid employees than sectors in other countries and its volunteer effort "exceeds both the average for developed countries and the overall international average."

Unlike other countries, Canada's non-profit sector is more likely to provide services with about 74 per cent of the sector's workers, whether paid or volunteer, delivering direct services, such as education, health, and housing. In addition, health organizations employ a much larger percentage of workers in Canada than in other countries.

But the report also warns that although Canada "has a long tradition of relying on nonprofit and voluntary organizations," the sector's future may be in jeopardy.

Chief among the reasons for that jeopardy are the changes to government funding from supporting "overall organizational capacity" to "more short-term, more competitive, and less predictable support being targeted to programs and projects." This, in turn, has also increased administrative costs associated with acquiring and reporting on funding.

As well, "Canadians may have reached the limits of their willingness to support" such organizations with the number of volunteers declining and the number of donors remaining stagnant.