No mail, consider e-transfer: N.B. charities scramble amid Canada Post strike

Charities in New Brunswick that rely heavily on mailed-in donations at this time of year are scrambling amid the Canada Post strike.

Postal workers went on strike last Friday, putting a halt to letter and parcel delivery. The only exceptions are certain benefits cheques.

Canada Post has indicated the disruption will cause a backlog, and the impact will be felt on service even after the strike ends.

That’s a problem for charitable organizations like the Greener Village Food Bank in Fredericton, which sends mailouts asking for support close to the holidays.

“In November and December alone we can hope to bring in $500,000 to $600,000 worth of donations to help us to make sure that we have the money that we need to carry forward into the new year,” said Alex Boyd, the CEO of Greener Village.

He says the year-end donations are needed now more than ever, with a record number of families that require food and assistance.

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Boyd is calling on donors who usually send money in the mail to consider other methods, including e-transfer. Otherwise, he says, the lack of revenue could be disastrous for the charity.

“That would not mean that we would be out of business in December,” he said.

“But it would mean that we would have to seriously look at our programming and how we deliver it if we don’t get the support we need to do so.”

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The CHU Dumont Foundation, which supports patients at the Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, is also feeling the pressure.

CEO Gilles Allain points out that the annual Tree of Hope campaign that benefits cancer patients had 35 per cent of its donations come through Canada Post last year.

In order to appeal to potential donors, Allain says the foundation will mail off 10,000 to 15,000 pieces of mail for the campaign. This year, they opted to send 20,000 mailouts to “capture a bit more donors.”

“And the strike sort of took us by surprise last week after the mail had dropped,” he said.

“Folks come to expect that piece of mail in the fall as part of their commitment to the Tree of Hope campaign. So we hope that the strike is settled quickly or our donors react and can find alternative ways to send us their support.”

Canada Post and its workers’ union entered a new round of mediated negotiations Monday, as both sides returned to the bargaining table with a special mediator, Peter Simpson, who was appointed by the federal government last week.