By: Dan Jones-Northumberland 89.7 News, Local Journalism Initiative

Some charities in the Northumberland region are already seeing a decrease in donations, but the nearly month-long Canada Post strike is adding pressure. Christmas is the giving season, where donations can amount for 20 to 50 percent of a charity’s annual revenue.

Jen Johnstone, the Executive Director of the Alzheimer's Society of Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland and Haliburton said the high cost of living, inflation and the strike are producing lower than expected donations.

“Given inflation, the cost of living is going up so high right now, we’re already seeing a depression in donations. The added pressures of the strike and the potential for donations to go down even further is enough that it might send some organizations into crisis,” Johnstone said.

Johnstone said the Alzheimer's Society is pivoting from its annual mail campaign in November to utilizing social media, emails and phone calls to solicit donations. Donations are generally received towards the end of the year to maximize tax incentives. Yet most people who donate to the Alzheimer's Society are often older, but more cautious about giving money online.

“Our area that we live in, generally has a high population of older adults. Not all older adults are necessarily comfortable making online donations. We also know donors are typically older adults as well. The two things combined together really make it quite challenging both for donors and for charities,” explained Johnstone.

Johnstone stresses that donating online is completely safe, but offers telephone, or in-person as alternatives to the internet. Once the strike is over, Johnstone anticipates some donations to come through the mail, but is worried this may be outside the Christmas campaign.

55,000 Canada Post workers have been striking since Nov. 14.