0
0
Authors: Jodene Baker, David Lasby, Imagine Canada
This post is a collaboration with Volunteer Canada.
Statistics Canada’s June 23 edition of The Daily released preliminary findings from the 2023 Survey of Giving, Volunteering, and Participating (GVP). These findings provide an important update on giving and volunteering trends in Canada, providing a snapshot of how Canadians are engaging with charities and nonprofits in the post-pandemic era.
Put simply, the results are sobering. Fewer Canadians are giving and volunteering, and they are contributing less of their time and money. These shifts look to be a combination of long-term trends and ongoing post-pandemic effects.
Key findings include:
- Continuing previous trends, the number of Canadians donating has declined by about 3 million since 2018. Since their peak in 2013, donor numbers have declined by nearly 6.3 million. Over the past decade, the percentage of Canadians donating has dropped from 82% to 54%.
- Total donations declined modestly to $13.4 billion in 2023 from $14.0 billion in 2018. This builds on a much more significant decline from $16.4 billion in 2013 (all figures inflation-adjusted).
- The percentage of Canadians volunteering for nonprofits and charities dropped significantly, from 41% in 2018 to 32% in 2023. This is an additional decline from 44% in 2013.
- Total volunteer hours dropped to 1.2 billion, down by over a quarter from 1.7 billion in 2018 and nearly four fifths from 2.0 billion in 2013. In total, this is equivalent to a decline of roughly 451,000 full-time jobs.
Overall, the giving-related findings align with long-term trends seen in Canadians’ claimed charitable donations on their personal income tax returns: charitable giving is increasingly concentrated among older, higher-income donors. Relatedly, the survey data show a drop in giving to religious organizations, possibly indicating a growing share of non-religious, high-value donors.
Volunteering-related findings highlight the very significant impacts of the pandemic. Women, in particular, show a notable drop in participation, with their volunteering rate dropping from 44% in 2018 to 34% in 2023 and their total volunteer hours declining by about a third. Beyond the decline in formal volunteering (e.g., volunteering for organizations), informal volunteering (e.g., helping others directly or engaging in community improvement work) also dropped significantly, going from 74% in 2018 to 66% in 2023.
These findings confirm what many in the nonprofit sector have been feeling for some time: we are at a critical juncture. With fewer donors, fewer volunteers and increasing community needs, organizations are being pushed to do more with less. Tackling these challenges requires more than good intentions- it calls for meaningful public investment, policy innovation, and a renewed commitment to generosity. Canada has a longstanding culture of care and community spirit. To keep that tradition strong, we need governments, communities, the private sector and individuals to work together to strengthen the systems and foundations that support our charitable and nonprofit sector.
About the survey
The survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating is a survey of Canadians aged 15 years of age or older, excluding residents of the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, full-time residents of institutions, and residents of First Nations reserves. The survey is conducted every five years, with the most recent wave fielded between September 15, 2023 and March 30, 2024. The survey is conducted online and via telephone and asks respondents about a range of pro-social behaviours including giving and volunteering through organizations and directly to help others, as well as participating by being a member of an organization. Key strengths of the survey include its focus on the contributions and characteristics of everyday Canadians and understanding the linkages between the various forms of pro-social behaviour.
This initial release and its high level findings is only the beginning. Statistics Canada is working to produce additional detailed data tabulations of national and provincial level donor and volunteer demographics that will be released in coming months. As more data becomes available, Volunteer Canada and Imagine Canada will be releasing additional resources on the Canadian Knowledge Hub for Giving and Volunteering.
