Some P.E.I. charities ditching offices or downsizing to save money

Some Prince Edward Island charities are deciding to reduce theiroffice space by downsizing, sharing spaces or ditching their offices entirely.

Diabetes Canada shut down its Charlottetown location last May after more than three decades in the city.

"We don't feel it's necessary anymore to do the work that we need to do,"said Terry Lewis, manager of community engagement for Diabetes Canada.

"The foot traffic that we useto get at one time wasn't the same anymore."

Lewis works out of his home now, doing work on advocacy issues and public policy,but the public no longer has a space to go to.

The organization also reduced the number of staff.Lewis is the only person working now but at one time the office had three employees.

Different ways of reaching people

With so much available online,Lewis said,people are getting their information differently.

"We have a strong digital strategy now," he said.

Local andcommunity programs only reach a small number of people,he said,so the groupfocuses on getting information out via the web andthrough health care professionals,who see the majority of people with diabetes.

Lewis said the phone still rings withpeople looking for help.

"I still get calls from people looking for information.I still get calls from people wanting to know what they should do next," said Lewis.

Others downsizing or merging

The Canadian Cancer Society of P.E.I downsized its office considerablyseveral years ago.

"It really wasn't responsible for us to have two floors," saysJaynaStokes, provincial lead for the Canadian Cancer Society of P.E.I.

The Canadian Cancer Society isplanning another move in Januaryto the Boardwalk Professional Centre in Charlottetown. It'ssimilar in size to thespace they are currentlyoccupying.

Stokes said, on a national level, the groupalso merged with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in 2017.

"We've had a lot of organizational change across the country,"she said.

"I think most charities are kind of going through a lot of the same things where they are reducing and regionalizing,so that we can put more of our donor dollars to the biggest impact."

Low administration costs better for donors

Diabetes Canada is alsoable to re-invest dollars that are being saved, Lewis said.

"We are re-investing those dollars into advocacy work, public policy work, our research,"he said.

"We just have to be using the donor dollars wisely."

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With files from Laura Meader