As many veterans organizations struggled in those first months, as I mentioned in my testimony, we were eligible to receive some benefit from the wage subsidy and the rent subsidy. I would certainly commend the government for making not-for-profit organizations able to apply for that. That allowed us to keep our staff on and not furlough and or make them redundant, which in turn not only helped the wider economy but also allowed us to continue our work. However as I mentioned, our revenue is already down 52% year on year.
To your question, the $1.5 million will give us certainty during the coming months. We know in the veterans sector—I'm sure the other witnesses would agree—that the month of November is the one time of year when people really think about veterans. We typically get 40% of our money in about a five-week period. The $1.5 million will hopefully allow us to get through the remaining months until the economic conditions improve.
As a point of clarification on something that came up much earlier in a question for Ms. Fimrite, the conditions around the VOESF grant do not allow onward granting. They're only for operational relief for your own organizations. Other organizations would not be allowed to bid for that money. It's to allow the recipients themselves to maintain their work during the coming months.
It would certainly allow us to keep our staff during the winter to make sure that we can push and hopefully maintain our work as we emerge.