Hospice Calgary is rallying support from Calgarians as its programs for terminally ill patients and grieving families come under increasing strain due to a significant fundraising shortfall and rising demand. Read More
The organization relies on public donations to cover about 50 per cent of the cost of its programming
The organization relies on public donations to cover about 50 per cent of the cost of its programming
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Hospice Calgary is rallying support from Calgarians as its programs for terminally ill patients and grieving families come under increasing strain due to a significant fundraising shortfall and rising demand.
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On Sunday, around 300 Calgarians gathered at Fish Creek Park for the 20th annual Hike for Hospice Calgary, the non-profit’s largest fundraising event of the year. But heading into the event, donations sat about $30,000 short of a $120,000 goal, marking the second consecutive year the campaign has risked falling short.
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Kelsey Murdoch, Hospice Calgary’s director of marketing and fund development, said a shortfall makes it more difficult to sustain services that are already stretched thin.
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“When we don’t meet a fundraising goal like this, it just makes it a lot harder for us to plan for how we can support the community,” she said. “A $30,000 hit is a lot for us. It means we have to cut back and be more resourceful.”
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Hospice Calgary provides subsidized and specialized support for people of all ages facing advanced illness, end-of-life and grief. More than 5,500 people accessed its services last year, and demand continues to grow as Calgary’s population ages, according to the non-profit.
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Murdoch pointed to a growing waitlist at the Children’s Grief Centre, which provides counselling and other supports for children and teens navigating the death of a loved one, often a parent.
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“It just makes it a lot harder to offer the services at the level of care that we want to,” she said.
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Hospice Calgary has been around for more than 30 years and operates three main programs: Rosedale Hospice, which provides end-of-life care for cancer patients and their families; the Living with Advanced Illness Centre, which supports individuals with terminal diagnoses and their families; and the Children’s Grief Centre.
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The organization relies on public donations to cover about 50 per cent of the cost of its programming. Some services, such as the Living with Advanced Illness Centre, receive no government funding and are solely funded by public donations.
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Murdoch said economic uncertainty, concerns about inflation and lingering post-pandemic challenges have made fundraising more difficult in recent years.
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“I think there’s (been) a lot of distractions with the election and tariffs and concerns about inflation,” she said. “It’s taking a little bit of time to . . . regain the momentum we had in 2018 and 2019.”
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Hike a chance to fundraise, connect with others