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Canada’s diversity
Using data helps us to communicate with our donors and the broader community. Furthermore, it can help us create a more personalized approach to our stewardship activities. However, when we steward are donors, are we looking at all the data that is available to us? Are we noticing that the communities around us are not the same as generations past? Are the communication and engagement strategies that have worked previously still serving us?
Canada is truly a diverse nation, from race and age to sexual orientation and income. However, many traditional methods of donor stewardship are geared towards older, affluent, and historically white donors. This group of donors is important, but they are not the only audience for charities. For example, racialized Canadians make up 22% of the population[1], and millennials which are the largest cohort make up 27%[2]. Furthermore, there are approximately one million people that make up the LGBTQ2+ community in Canada according to a 2021 report from Stats Canada[3]. Knowing that the landscape around us is changing should compel us to change our approach to donor stewardship as well.
Marina Glogovac from CanadaHelps shared, “We’re seeing increasing numbers of young people donate to charities involved in social and racial justice movements. These new donors are culturally diverse, educated and live in cities, and they’re in the same groups that are active in the social justice movements or that are impacted by injustices.”[4]
Newcomers to Canada
As an example of Canada’s diversity, let’s look at a large group of people such as new immigrants. Although we cannot conclude that all immigrants have the same giving patterns, according to the 2018 research conducted by Imagine Canada and Rideau Hall Foundation immigrants tended to give larger amounts than their Canadian born counterparts.[5] Also, many immigrants send money to their country of birth to help support their family members. According to the Multicultural & Newcomer Charitable Giving Study by Imagine Canada 57% of newcomers send money regularly to family and friends and 19% send funds at least monthly.
This may not be the traditional way we think of philanthropy, but the very definition of philanthropy from Oxford languages is “the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.”[6] What better cause is there than family? Truly, a recent immigrant who improves their financial position and in turn supports their family is as philanthropic as it gets.
A different way of thinking
So, how do we translate this information within our organizations? Some questions to consider are, does your organization have the ability to communicate in multiple languages? Are you aware of days of celebration other than the traditionally Christian holidays that Canadians celebrate?
There is no better time than now to re-examine our current stewardship practices and make them more inclusive. All groups of people have a tradition of philanthropy and see the act of giving through different lenses; so, we cannot simply use one model of stewardship to interact with many communities. For example, those of Afro-Caribbean and Filipino backgrounds tend to support religious organizations. Giving to the church is a wonderful example of charity and generosity.[7]
Also, while some donors do not have the economic resources to give monetarily, they can still contribute heavily to your organization. Hours donated by volunteers allow many organizations to run their daily operations. Is it not time to recognize contributions of time in addition to monetary donations when stewarding donors? According to Statistics Canada, Gen Z (born 1996 and up) and Millennials had the highest volunteer rates at 52% and 40% respectively[8]. Age aside, a committed donor that contributes $5/month or volunteers five hours per month may be a major donor in the future.
Moving into the future
The more that you can learn about the communities that support your organization, the more you can tailor your communication strategies to make them even more effective. Furthermore, it is good practice to re-evaluate your current strategies to see if they are currently working, and if not, you can stop those practices altogether. The more data that you have about your donors and their preferences, the more you will find opportunities for your organization to better steward donors.
The data shows us clearly, there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to stewarding our donors. As our communities continue to become more diverse, our communications and engagement should follow. And for our organizations to thrive into the future, we need to recognize Canada as it is now and into the future, and not in the past. In the end the one similarity between all your donors is they want to help, so in response we must speak to all of them, inclusively, and not just a small subset.
With over a decade in the financial sector, Rochelle Greaves has used her technical knowledge to help businesses measure key metrics and trends, driving strategic decision making. Currently, as the Co-founder and Director of Analytics & Strategy at Story Point Consulting, Rochelle continues to use her skills to help nonprofits increase their fundraising capacity and revenue. You can reach her at info@storypoint.ca.
[1] Stats Canada, Census Profile, 2016 Census. Census 2016.
[2] Heisz, Andrew and Richards, Elizabeth. Economic Well-being Across Generations of Young Canadians: Are Millennials Better or Worse Off?, 2019. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-626-x/11-626-x2019006-eng.htm.
[3] A statistical portrait of Canada’s diverse LGBTQ2+ communities, 2021. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210615/dq210615a-eng.htm
[4] CanadaHelps in partnership with Environics Analytics. The Giving Report 2021 Faster Growth in Online Giving Crucial in Times of Crisis, 2021.
[5] Imagine Canada and Rideau Hall Foundation. 30 Years of Giving in Canada The Giving Behaviour of Canadians: Who gives, How and Why?, 2018.
[6] https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/
[7] Imagine Canada. Multicultural & Newcomer Charitable Giving Study, 2021.
[8] Hahmann,Tara, du Plessis,Valerie and Fournier-Savard, Patric. Volunteering in Canada: Challenges and opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2020001/article/00037-eng.htm.
