Nonprofit Appreciation Week
Let’s celebrate Ontario’s nonprofits!
What is Nonprofit Appreciation Week?
This week recognizes Ontario’s nonprofit sector and its nearly 850,000 workers. It’s based on legislation to recognize nonprofit workers and organizations by the government of Ontario,
Bill 9, Nonprofit Sector Appreciation Week, 2021.
It is championed by MPP Daisy Wai and the
Bhayana Family Foundation; and celebrates the vital role nonprofits and workers play in
delivering essential programs that Ontarians depend on every day. They offer recreation and wellness activities, provide shelters and mental health supports, create spaces for arts and culture, and more to maintain healthy, vibrant, and inclusive communities in Ontario.
A few reasons to celebrate:
- Nearly 850,000 nonprofit workers are dedicated to serving, connecting, and supporting all Ontarians.
- Nonprofit workers provide essential services, such as child care, long-term care, shelters, community health centres, seniors support, and more.
- Much of the work is done by women workers who are the majority of the nonprofit workforce (77 per cent).
- Nonprofit workers are your neighbours, your friends, your family, and your community leaders.
- Ontario’s 58,000 nonprofits help to create healthy and thriving communities, and contribute $65 billion to the economy.
- Ontario’s nonprofit sector is diverse – from arts and culture, housing, sports and recreation, faith, child development, community health care, the environment, and more.
- Nonprofits are leading advocacy and change for a better, greener, more equitable economy and inclusive society.
- The innovative ways nonprofit workers tackle diverse issues with creative, local solutions.
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An organization in Haliburton is using community bonds to improve access to nonprofit owned and managed affordable housing.
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An Anishinaabe youth paddling collective is reseeding manoomin (wild rice) back into the waters of Serpent River First Nation, and reconnecting to their ancestral waterways.
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A charity in Toronto is using theatre to produce socially relevant drama as a tool for positive change. They use interactive arts to educate, engage and empower audiences in schools, communities and workplaces.
Celebrate with us (February 16-20, 2026)
- Join the conversation on social media through #NonprofitAppreciationWeek, and use this amplification package to spread the word.
- Share this interactive map to highlight the impact nonprofits have on our communities.
- Connect with your local MPPs to establish your nonprofit as a ready partner to serve your community members together. Legislative breaks (happening now) are a great time to meet with them as they are in their constituent offices rather than Queens Park.
- Amplify messages about Nonprofit Appreciation Week in your communities, and to your local newspaper or radio station.
