The Giving Behaviour of Canadians: Who Gives, How, and Why?

Who, why and how Canadians give is the subject of a new report titled 30 Years of Giving in Canada.

The report, commissioned by the Rideau Hall Foundation and Imagine Canada, the umbrella group for Canadian charities, is designed to help charities better understand the current giving landscape in Canada, and to use that knowledge to help them do better fundraising.

Earlier, I interviewed Bruce MacDonald, President and CEO of Imagine Canada, about some main findings of the report, including the impact of declining religiosity in this country.

Here are a few more highlights.

Decrease in Donors

Starting in 1990, the proportion of taxfilers claiming donations began to decline fairly steadily, dropping from a high of 29.5% in 1990 to 20.8% in 2014.

Despite the decline, the amount given to charity by individual donors increased from 1995, reaching $1,640 by 2007.

This drove rapid growth in donations, even though the percentage of taxfilers claiming donations declined.

The overall trend is clear, according to the report. “The donor base is getting ever-smaller. From the peak in 1990, the percentage of taxfilers claiming donations has dropped by roughly a third, while the average amount claimed has nearly doubled.”

This means, the reports states, “that charities are relying on an ever-smaller number of people for donations.”

The Best Givers

Both the likelihood of giving and the average amounts donated generally increase with age, income, frequency of attendance at religious services, and education.

Men are less likely to give than women, but tend to make larger donations when they do donate.

Those who are married are most likely to donate, while widows and widowers tend to donate the largest amounts.

Those who are single are least likely to donate, and tend to contribute the smallest amounts.

Role of Religion in Giving

The report confirms previous research about religion and giving, showing that those who attend worship services regularly tend to give more often and more.

91% of those who attend at least once a week give $1,284 a year, while 90% of those who attend at least once a month give $633.

As for those who attend at least three times a year, 90% give $428, while 83% of those who attend once or twice a year give $287.

As for those who don’t attend at all, 76% give, donating $313 a year.

In other words, the less people attend worship services, the less they give—a chilling thing to realize at a time when attendance at worship services is declining overall.

Giving Trends

The report says there have been several shifts in how Canadians give since 2004.

First, giving to Religious organizations is decreasing, both in terms of number of donors and amounts donated.

Second, giving to International organizations is increasing, both in terms of number of donors and amounts donated.

Third, the amounts donated to social services organizations have increased, even though the number of donors has remained flat.

Fourth, the number of donors to health organizations and hospitals has declined significantly, although the amounts donated have been less affected.

Why Do People Give?

“Most Canadians are motivated to donate by a mixture of personal and ideological factors,” the report says.

Ideological factors “include feelings of compassion towards those in need and the desire to make a contribution to their community.”

Personal motivators “include belief in the cause of the organization and being personally affected or knowing someone who is affected by the cause.”

Other reasons for donating, including tax credits received in return for donating and religious obligations, are reported by less than a third of donors.

How do People Give?

Three ways of giving stand out, according to the report, providing two-thirds of donations.

They are: Donating at a place of worship; donating on one’s own initiative; and donating in response to a mail request.

They are followed by donating in memory of someone, paying to attend a charity event, and donating at work.

The remaining five methods are donating in response to a telephone request, by sponsoring someone in an event, in response to a television or radio appeal, via door-to-door canvassing, or in a public place such as at a shopping centre or on the street.

Collectively, these five methods accounted for only about one in every ten dollars donated.

After donating by mail, the next most important method is donating online.

The report says that not while more needs to be learned about online giving, it is clear it is on the rise.

In 2013 12% of Canadians reported making at least one donation online; collectively they contributed at least $860 million online, equivalent to approximately 7% of total reported donations.

Donors who are younger, have higher levels of education, and higher incomes are more likely to donate online.

Where do Canadians Learn to Give?

The report notes there is not much data available that can shed light on how Canadians learn to give.

It refers to the 2010 Giving Volunteering and Participating survey, which found the main ways people learned to give or volunteer were religious organizations, student government and organized sports.

The survey also showed the importance of parents setting an example for children; respondents indicated they were more likely to give or volunteer if they saw their parents doing those things.

Of all the ways people learn to give, “being active in a religious organization when young had by far the largest impact,” the report states.

Religion also influenced how much people gave; “being active in a religious organization as a youth had the largest impact on the amount donated as an adult.”

Those who had parents who volunteered or saw someone they admired helping others also donated more.

Youth and Giving

The giving behaviours of younger Canadians differ from those of older Canadians in several significant ways, the report found.

“Most importantly, younger Canadians are less likely to donate, tend to make smaller donations, and support fewer individual causes,” than older people, it says.

Those aged 15 to 24 are less likely to donate than those aged 25 to 34, the study found, and people in that age group are less likely to donate than those 35 and older.

Those in the youngest age group also donate less, on average, than those in the middle age group, who in turn donate less than the oldest age group.

Older People and Giving

Older Canadians give larger amounts and donate to more causes. In terms of total donations to all causes, the average donation made by those 65 and older is about one-and-a-half times the average donation made by younger donors.

Older donors devote more of their giving to organizations working in the areas of religion; international development and relief; grant making, fundraising & voluntarism; and education & research.

Those aged 65 to 74 are the most likely to donate to secular causes, while those aged 75 and older are most likely to donate to religious causes, the report says.

Summary

The findings presented in Thirty Years of Giving in Canada suggest that, despite the unquestionable generosity of Canadians, much could be done to increase giving in this country.

It suggests that charities need to find ways to more effectively engage young people and new Canadians.

With the decline in religious attendance, this could include the expansion of formal efforts to teach young people about giving, in both secondary schools and in colleges and universities.

"Even small increases in the proportion of Canadians who give and/or small increases in average donation amounts would have an enormous impact,” it states.

Time, however “is of the essence,” it adds.

“The Boomer generation, which has been the mainstay of the charitable sector

for most of the past 30 years, is aging. There is a limited amount of time left to tap into the philanthropic impulses of this generation and it is unclear if younger generations will be willing or able to take their place.”

Charities also need to find ways to engage immigrants, which are becoming a growing part of the population.

“Over the coming decades, immigrants will make up an even greater percentage of the population and this group is often unfamiliar with and distrustful of the charitable sector,” it notes.

Charities also need to recognize the way Canadians give and the causes they give to is changing.

“Organizations that are adept at understanding changing attitudes and preferences will be in a better position to adapt their messages and tactics,” it says.

“To navigate this uncertain future, the sector will need more and better data and strong digital strategies to facilitate future giving.”

Finally, collaboration will be important.

“Collective efforts to encourage a more robust giving culture should also be considered,” it states.

Download the report here.