Number of Canadian families who donate to charity falling

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/11/2017 (2907 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadians are showing signs of donor fatigue, concludes a new report that drilled down into a decade of charitable giving nationwide.

The Giving Report, released online Thursday, used Statistics Canada research, and data from Canada Revenue Agency, to shed light on trends in donations and insights into how Canadians share the wealth.

The proportion of families who made donations fell to 39.9 per cent in 2015 from 45.3 per cent in 2006, the study found.

And it was the wealthiest in the country who showed the deepest dip in giving, said the report, compiled by CanadaHelps, a social-enterprise organization that raises money for various charities through online fundraising platforms.

The study found there are more high-income families in 2017 compared with a decade ago, but they are less charitable than previous generations.

The number of families in Canada earning from $150,000 to $199,000 annually rose eight per cent in the last 10 years; those earning $200,000 to $249,000 rose 10.2 per cent; and families earning more than $250,000 a year was up 8.4 per cent.

“The three high income levels also saw the greatest decline in the average donation amount, dropping three to four per cent each in the last decade,” the report’s summary sheet stated.

In Manitoba, a province that’s consistently ranked among the highest for its generosity, the numbers weren’t as bad, but they’re headed in the wrong direction, the report found.

In 2015, Manitoba still had the highest rate of donations with 39 per cent of families living here claiming donations on their tax returns. In 2010, that number was slightly higher, at 41 per cent.

The report highlighted some bright spots amid the doom and gloom of donor fatigue.

Online donations are rising. The report found that while Canadians are making fewer donations overall, online donations had risen 22.5 per year on CanadaHelp’s website between 2006 and 2016. The report gives credit for the uptick to the ease Canadians feel about donating online and the rapid pace of digital e-commerce.

Monthly donations are another bright spot. Canadians who use online platforms for monthly donations gave an average of $699 a year, more than twice as much as Canadians who give a one-time annual donation, which averaged $322.

Meantime, small charities rely more than ever on donations, the report said.

Eighty per cent of the roughly 85,000 charities in Canada had revenue of less than $500,000 in 2015. Those small charities, in contrast with huge corporate entities, depend on donations for 43 per cent of their revenue.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca