Growth in Charitable Giving Outpaced Volunteering prior to Economic Downturn
Latest Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating data released
New data released from the largest Canadian study on giving and
volunteering reveals how key segments of the population support one another and their communities.
Findings from the 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating provide a portrait of
activities that are integral to the Canadian social fabric and allow us to understand how and why Canadians
contribute to their communities either through donations, volunteering or helping fellow Canadians directly.
While the rates of donating, volunteering and helping are largely unchanged since the 2004 survey, there has
been modest growth in the total value of donations, the average size of donations and total volunteer hours.
There are also changes at the provincial and territorial level.
In 2007, Canadians donated a total of $10 billion, an increase of 12% or $1.1 billion since 2004, and
volunteered 2.1 billion hours, a 4.2% increase. The average donation increased to $437 from $400 in 2004
while the average number of volunteer hours remained about the same at 166 hours. The bulk of support
continues to come from a narrow segment of the population: 21% of Canadians account for 82% of the total
value of donations, and 12% of Canadians account for 78% of all volunteer hours.
“On the whole, almost all Canadians give time and money, but the fact remains, we still rely on
a small number of individuals to provide the majority of support,” says Dr. Michael Hall, Vice-President, Research at Imagine Canada and lead author of the report. “We’re encouraged that
donations grew between 2004 and 2007 but we need Canadians to continue their support for
charities and nonprofits during these challenging economic times.”
Giving varies by province and territory with Newfoundland and Labrador having the highest donor rate (91%), followed by Prince Edward Island (89%) and New Brunswick (88%). The largest increase in donor rates from 2004 to 2007 was in Alberta (79% to 85%). In regards to average donation size, Albertans made the largest average annual donation followed by donors from the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and Manitoba.
Volunteer activity in the provinces and territories varies substantially. In 2007, the volunteer rate was highest
in Saskatchewan (59%) followed by the Yukon (58%), Prince Edward Island (56%), and Nova Scotia (55%). The
volunteer rate increased in most provinces and territories with the largest increase occurring in Prince Edward
Island (47% to 56%) followed by Nova Scotia (48% to 55%), and Saskatchewan (54% to 59%). Between 2004 and 2007, the largest decreases in average hours volunteered were in Saskatchewan (188 to 147 hours) and
British Columbia (199 to 172 hours).
The Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating is conducted by Statistics Canada every three years and was developed through a unique partnership of federal government departments and voluntary organizations. The CSGVP provides the most comprehensive assessment of giving, volunteering and participating ever undertaken in Canada and, to our knowledge, in the world.
For more information about the Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, download the full
report at www.givingandvolunteering.ca.
Courtesy of Imagine Canada and Volunteer Canada.
