A Growing Share of Canadians Are Donating to Charity, Study Finds

September 6, 2001 | Read Time: 3 minutes

Fewer Canadians are volunteering their time but they are giving more money to charity,

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Statistics Canada reports in a new study. But the increase in donations did not keep pace with the growth in household income.

Nearly 22 million Canadians, or 91 percent of the population over age 15, made donations last year, for a total of $3.33-billion ($5-billion Canadian), according to the second National Survey of Giving, Volunteering, and Participating. That represents a 6-percent increase, after adjusting for inflation, from 1997, when Canada’s federal-statistics agency conducted its first such survey. Average annual total donations grew by 8 percent, from $160 in 1997 to $173 in 2000. During the same period, however, the average Canadian household income grew by 16 percent.

Giving increased most among people age 15 to 24, whose average annual gifts rose from $53 to $79. Among those 65 and older, annual gifts dropped from $219 to $205.

Religious groups continued to receive the largest share of donations — 49 percent, compared with 51 percent three years earlier.

Volunteers contributed just over one billion hours in 2000, down 56 million hours from 1997. The number of volunteers shrank by a million people. Twenty-seven percent of Canadians reported giving time to charity, compared with 31 percent three years earlier.

Volunteering rates fell among all age groups, but most notably for people 35 to 44, where it decreased from 37 to 30 percent. Young people (15 to 24) spent the least time volunteering, 130 hours on average, while people 65 and older gave the most — 269 hours.

But time spent volunteering increased to 162 hours last year, on average, compared with 149 hours in 1997. Many people gave far more: Seven percent of volunteers contributed 73 percent of all such hours.

A 1999 survey conducted by Independent Sector found that 70 percent of Americans donate to charity, while 56 percent give their time.

The report is available online through Statistics Canada’s Web site at http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/71-542-XIE/
71-542-XIE00001.pdf. A printed version can be ordered by calling (800) 267-6677.

GIVING AND VOLUNTEERING IN CANADA

GIVING
	Percentage of Canadians who give		Size of average donation		Median amount donated
	1997	2000	1997	2000	1997	2000
Total	78%	78%	$239	$259	$76	$73
	Percentage of Canadians who give		Size of average donation		Median amount donated
	1997	2000	1997	2000	1997	2000
Age
15-24	59%	64%	$79	$118	$20	$25
25-34	78%	77%	$159	$229	$55	$65
35-44	84%	86%	$258	$242	$83	$78
45-54	83%	83%	$291	$338	$105	$100
55-64	83%	81%	$313	$316	$108	$100
65 and older	80%	77%	$328	$308	$140	$101
	Percentage of Canadians who give		Size of average donation		Median amount donated
	1997	2000	1997	2000	1997	2000
Sex
Male	75%	75%	$243	$260	$73	$77
Female	81%	81%	$236	$259	$83	$70
	Percentage of Canadians who give		Size of average donation		Median amount donated
	1997	2000	1997	2000	1997	2000
Marital status
Married and common-law	85%	84%	$261	$282	$92	$83
Single, never married	63%	66%	$162	$169	$35	$40
Widowed	76%	77%	$302	$328	$121	$120
Separated, divorced	73%	72%	$200	$286	$70	$75
	Percentage of Canadians who give		Size of average donation		Median amount donated
	1997	2000	1997	2000	1997	2000
Education
Less than high school	68%	68%	$156	$152	$50	$43
High-school diploma	76%	80%	$198	$210	$75	$58
Some post-secondary	78%	77%	$177	$231	$60	$80
Post-secondary diploma	84%	84%	$240	$252	$82	$80
University degree	90%	84%	$473	$480	$168	$170
	Percentage of Canadians who give		Size of average donation		Median amount donated
	1997	2000	1997	2000	1997	2000
Labor force status
Employed	83%	82%	$253	$273	$81	$79
Full-time	84%	83%	$242	$274	$85	$83
Part-time	79%	76%	$297	$271	$65	$63
Unemployed	64%	65%	$103	$139	$29	$35
Not in the labor force	72%	73%	$227	$243	$78	$70
	Percentage of Canadians who give		Size of average donation		Median amount donated
	1997	2000	1997	2000	1997	2000
Household income
Less than $20,000	63%	63%	$134	$142	$40	$35
$20,000-$39,999	77%	75%	$182	$190	$60	$52
$40,000-$59,999	81%	79%	$221	$214	$80	$65
$60,000-$79,999	86%	83%	$255	$233	$91	$83
$80,000-$99,999	89%	87%	$290	$348	$118	$125
$100,000 or more	91%	86%	$608	$529	$200	$176

VOLUNTEERING
	Percentage of Canadians who volunteer		Average hours volunteered
	1997	2000	1997	2000
Total	31%	27%	149	162
	Percentage of Canadians who volunteer		Average hours volunteered
	1997	2000	1997	2000
Age
15-24	33%	29%	125	130
25-34	28%	24%	133	131
35-44	37%	30%	142	153
45-54	35%	30%	157	158
55-64	30%	28%	160	181
65 and older	23%	18%	202	269
	Percentage of Canadians who volunteer		Average hours volunteered
	1997	2000	1997	2000
Sex
Male	29%	25%	160	170
Female	33%	28%	140	155
	Percentage of Canadians who volunteer		Average hours volunteered
	1997	2000	1997	2000
Marital status
Married and common-law	33%	28%	151	165
Single, never married	31%	26%	133	136
Widowed	20%	17%	186	253
Separated, divorced	29%	25%	157	181
	Percentage of Canadians who volunteer		Average hours volunteered
	1997	2000	1997	2000
Education
Less than high school	21%	19%	126	154
High-school diploma	29%	23%	159	150
Some post-secondary	36%	33%	153	173
Post-secondary diploma	34%	28%	149	165
University degree	48%	39%	159	166
	Percentage of Canadians who volunteer		Average hours volunteered
	1997	2000	1997	2000
Labor force status
Employed	34%	28%	138	147
Full-time	32%	27%	138	145
Part-time	44%	33%	139	155
Unemployed	29%	25%	121	175
Not in the labor force	27%	24%	176	193
	Percentage of Canadians who volunteer		Average hours volunteered
	1997	2000	1997	2000
Household income
Less than $20,000	22%	17%	148	207
$20,000-$39,999	29%	21%	163	179
$40,000-$59,999	33%	26%	150	162
$60,000-$79,999	36%	31%	144	156
$80,000-$99,999	42%	35%	128	127
$100,000 or more	45%	39%	143	150