The Role of Co-operatives in Ontario’s Social Economy May 1, 2008 David Lasby Senior Research Associate

Information Sources 2003 National Survey of Nonprofits and Voluntary Organizations (Ontario data) Financial data adjusted for inflation 2007 survey of Ontario co-operatives conducted by Ontario Co-operative Association

Background - NSNVO Conducted during Fall, 2003 Conducted by Statistics Canada, as a telephone survey Surveyed approximately 13,000 organizations nationally 2,250 from Ontario Sample frame constructed from a number of sources: Business Registry Provincial and Federal registrars Canada Revenue Agency filings

Background - Co-ops Survey Conducted during summer 2007 Attempted contact with all known Ontario co-operatives Approximately 600 responses Conducted by ON Co-op using a variety of modes: Online Telephone Paper Sample frame based on ON Co-op’s list of co-operatives and supplemented by extensive searches

The Contributions of Cooperatives to the Social Economy in Ontario Relatively small in number Approximately 1,300 co-operatives in Ontario vs. 45,000 nonprofits or about 3% of total number of organizations Significant contribution to revenues $4.6 billion vs. $51.8 for nonprofits or about 8% of total revenues for social economy Relatively small paid staff contribution 15,000 vs. 959,000 for nonprofits or about 2% of social economy employment Relatively small volunteer contribution Volunteer complement of 49,000 vs. 7.8 million for nonprofits I think the salient point is that co-operatives tend to punch above their weight in a lot of ways that are important to our understanding of the community nonprofit sector. Although they add just around 3% to the count of organizations, in terms of revenues, they play a disproportionate role.

The Number of Organizations

Co-ops By Organization Type

Nonprofits and Co-ops by Organization Type Child care Housing Credit Unions Community Dev’t Agricultural Retail Transportation

Relative Revenues of Nonprofits and Co-ops Total revenues for Nonprofits: $51.8 billion Total revenues for Co-ops:$4.6 billion Total sectoral revenues: $56.4 billion

Co-ops by Size of Annual Revenues Appear to be two principal size classes About a fifth of Co-operatives report annual revenues between $30,000 and $100,000 Over half of co-ops report annual revenues of $500,000 or more: about a quarter between $500,000 and $1 million about a fifth between $1 million and $10 million

Nonprofits and Co-ops by Size of Annual Revenues Revenue picture is much different from that seen with NPOs, where over half of organizations report annual revenues less that $100,000. As compared to NPOs, Co-ops appear to be much less likely to report annual revenues less than $30,000. Conversely, they are much more likely to report annual revenues between $500,000 and $10 million.

Contributions to Total Revenues* +25% * NPO figures exclude Hospitals, Universities & Colleges

Contributions to Total Revenues* Primary changes in the areas of Development and Housing and Other. Major contributors in terms of revenue: Development & Housing – credit unions, housing co-ops Other – agricultural, among others +132% +169% * Excludes Hospitals, Universities & Colleges

Relative Paid Staff Complements of Nonprofits and Co-ops Total paid staff for Nonprofits: around 960 thousand Total paid staff for Co-ops: 15,500 Total sectoral paid staff: approx 975 thousand

Nonprofits and Co-ops by Size of Paid Staff Complements

Contributions to Total Paid Staff Complement* +6% Contributions to Paid staff complement are modest and concentrated in a handful of organization types 8,300 in Development & Housing 5,900 in the Other Category +42% * Excludes Hospitals, Universities & Colleges

Contributions to Total Paid Staff Complement* +3% +4% 5,000 in the $1 to $10 million group 7,700 in the $10 million+ group * NPO figures exclude Hospitals, Universities & Colleges

Relative Volunteer Complements of Nonprofits and Co-ops Total volunteers for Nonprofits: 7.8 million Total paid staff for Co-ops: 49,000 Total sectoral paid staff: approx 7.8 million

Nonprofits and Co-ops by Size of Volunteer Complements

Contributions to Volunteer Complement* Contributions to volunteer complement are extremely modest and highly concentrated. About two-thirds of total volunteers for Co-operatives are involved with Development & Housing organizations - +47% * Excludes Hospitals, Universities & Colleges

Contributions to Volunteer Complement* Changes are roughly equally distributed across organization sizes – maximum of about 2% of volunteers for each organization size class. * NPO figures exclude Hospitals, Universities & Colleges

Paid Staff Fraction* * NPO figures exclude Hospitals, Universities & Colleges

Part-time Paid Staff Fraction* * NPO figures exclude Hospitals, Universities & Colleges