As you might have heard, the latest Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (CSGVP) was released last week.
Based on data collected in 2007, the survey – the fourth in a series of surveys that began in 1997 with the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP) – presented some intriguing statistics regarding how Canadians give of their time and money.
Let it flow, let it flow
Interested readers can read through the entire CSGVP report by downloading it here in PDF for much more detail, but the Imagine Canada media release last week recaps the more salient results as follows:
“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.”
It seems people truly are creatures of habit, since these figures “are essentially unchanged” since 2004, according to the survey”s authors.
Commenting on the positive and negative aspects of the above blurb, Dr. Michael Hall, VP of research at Imagine, said that while he was “encouraged” that Canadians donated more than they did since the last CSGVP in 2004, “we need Canadians to continue their support for charities and nonprofits during these challenging economic times.”
Still, going beyond the sexy surface statistics, there are some interesting changes occurring, particularly – as alluded to above – with regard to rates of volunteerism in Canada.
Lend a hand, Canada
As noted above, while Canadians donated more money in 2007 than in 2004, the same cannot be said of donating one”s time. Though it”s not considered statistically relevant per se, the average number of volunteer hours put in by Canadians was actually down two hours on average – from 168 in 2004 to 166 in 2007 – and the survey sheds some interesting light on what is going on.
“What keeps Canadians from volunteering more?” the survey asks rhetorically.
It answers: “The majority of both volunteers and non-volunteers identified the lack of time as a barrier, and over half reported that they were unable to make a long-term commitment to volunteering. For example, many individuals indicated that they did not volunteer more or volunteer at all because they were not asked. Other barriers included not knowing how to become involved and the financial costs associated with volunteering.”
David Lasby, senior research associate with Imagine Canada, told CharityVillage that what was seen with regard to volunteering rates is a “holding steady” pattern at the national level. However, there were individual provinces where the average hours of volunteering went up.
“We have seen statistically significant “hops” in barriers [to volunteering],” Lasby said. “They”re not huge, but they are important. We see these barriers increasing in importance for people who are volunteering. And we also see those same barriers among the non-volunteers, preventing them from volunteering.”
The good news is that some of these barriers may soon fall thanks to the use of technology.
E-giving and e-volunteering
A small paragraph in the CSGVP notes that the Internet is starting to assume a role in accounting for volunteerism.
“The role of the Internet in volunteering appears to be increasing slowly. Almost a quarter of volunteers (23%) said they used the Internet in some way during the course of their volunteering, compared to 20% in 2004. Similarly, 10% used it to search for volunteering opportunities during 2007, compared to 8% in 2004,” the survey says.
CharityVillage asked Lasby whether he felt the Internet could be a new way to recruit new volunteers. The explosion of social networking sites has touched almost every organization and individual with access to the web. Could this be one of the answers to addressing the dearth of volunteers in Canada? Lasby couldn’t speculate on how the Internet’s role might play out in the future, but he said it looks like this is “going up in importance.” As for social media, he isn’t sure if social media, at present, has found a role in “doing actual operational work” for organizations and volunteers.
“But it’s clear that [social media] is having an effect on recruitment and outreach,” he added. “The question is, what’s the next step going to look like? Gosh, I couldn’t tell you.”
[Author’s note: An upcoming feature will look at how social networking has become integral to the outreach and communication arms of organizations such as Imagine.]
You’re the top
In another interesting section, the survey delves into identifying who the “top” donors are in Canada – the 25% who donated at least $364 and accounted for 82% of all donated dollars. It reveals the following:
- They tend to be 65 and older: though only 5% of the populace, this group accounted for 20% of the “total value of all donations.”
- They tend to be well educated: more than one-third of top donors have university degrees.
- They tend to have higher household income: top donors in the highest income bracket made up only 8% of the population but they accounted for 34% of the total value of donations.
- Widows and widowers are more likely to be top donors: 30% of these were top donors, compared to just 11% of single or never-been-married people.
- Lastly, individuals involved in religion are more likely to be top donors: 49% of weekly attendees to religious services are top donors compared to only 15% those who do not attend weekly.
The survey also contains a similar breakdown for “top volunteers,” much of it shaking out into the same categories as “top donors.” Much more information is available in the survey and makes for fascinating reading.
How do you give?
Another interesting section breaks down giving rates by method. Statistics here were reached by asking Canadians how they donate their dollars. The stats break down as follows:
- 88% donate using cheques or cash
- 7% donate via credit card
- 2% donate by payroll deduction
- 1% through authorized account deduction
Of note are the donors who pay by credit card. Survey results indicated that 27% of these do so via the Internet. “However, Internet donations were generally smaller ($119 on average, vs. $216 for non-Internet donations),” the authors note.
Conclusions
For Lasby, two things were ultimately important to note in reading this second CSGVP. First, it’s apparent that “Canadian support for nonprofit organizations is deeply ingrained. It is a core behaviour, and I don’t see that going away anytime soon.”
Second, the sexy numbers at the top of this story – the $10 billion donated by Canadians in 2007, an increase of 12% or $1.1 billion since 2004 – are numbers that have “outpaced inflation.” And while this should be heralded, Lasby cautions that the average number of donations made by individuals decreased from 4.3% to 3.8%. What does that mean?
“People seem to be concentrating [their donations] a little more,” he said. “There’s still a lot of generosity and support out there, but it’s not necessarily being spread around as much between organizations. That’s quite interesting.” With any luck, the next CSVGP will show more giving to more organizations.
The CSGVP’s authors conclude the report on a positive note, praising Canadians for their giving and looking toward a continued trend of increased giving. They write:
“Canadians, as a people, give, volunteer, and help one another directly. While some do more than others, these behaviours are nevertheless broad and pervasive. Many channel their compassion and contributions though charitable and nonprofit organizations and many also engage directly, providing help and assistance on their own. Through their involvement they have helped to make their communities and their country better places in which to live.”
Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf is president of WordLaunch professional writing services in Toronto. He can be reached at andy@wordlaunch.com.
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