The Daily. Friday, August 17, 2001

National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating

In 2000, Canadians were volunteering less but giving more money than they were in 1997, according to a new snapshot of voluntary and civic action in Canada. However, the rate of increase in average donations since 1997 did not keep pace with the rate of increase of average household incomes of donors.

The second National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating paints a portrait of a society in which most citizens provide modest, albeit important, levels of support to one another. But it is a society that also depends disproportionately on the contributions of a small core of particularly motivated people.

Between October 1999 and September 2000, an estimated 22 million individuals, or 91% of the population aged 15 and older, made donations, either money or in-kind, to charitable and non-profit organizations. This level was about the same as in 1997.

During the same 12-month period, these people provided financial support estimated at more than $5 billion, an 11% increase from 1997. After consideration of the impact of price inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, the increase in real terms was approximately 6%. The lion's share, about $4.9 billion, came from the 78% of people who made direct financial donations, either in response to a request from an organization, or by approaching it on their own initiative.

Charities and non-profit organizations continued to rely on a relatively small group of donors, according to the survey. The top one-quarter of donors who gave $213 or more during the year accounted for 82% of total donations.

In fact, a small number of people provided the bulk of charitable and voluntary support in the country. Fewer than 1 in 10 Canadians contributed 46% of the total dollar value of all donations as well as 40% of all volunteer hours. The voluntary sector continues to depend heavily on these core supporters.

Decline of roughly one million volunteers

About 6.5 million people, or 27% of the population aged 15 and older, gave their time in one form or another as part of a group or organization during the same year. This represented a decline of about 1 million people from the 7.5 million (31% of the population) who volunteered in 1997.

Note to readers This release is based on the report Caring Canadians, involved Canadians, which analyzes results from the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP), the most comprehensive survey of its kind in Canada. It records how Canadians give money and other resources to individuals and to charitable and non-profit organizations; how they volunteer time to charitable and non-profit organizations and directly to indivduals; and how they participate in organizations and civic life. The survey, first conducted by Statistics Canada in 1997 as a supplement to the Labour Force Survey, was repeated in the fall of 2000. The 2000 survey was based on a representative sample of 14,724 Canadians aged 15 and over. The NSGVP was developed through a partnership of federal government departments and voluntary sector organizations. These include the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, Canadian Heritage, Health Canada, Human Resources Development Canada, Statistics Canada and Volunteer Canada. The federal government and the voluntary sector recently launched the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI) to help strengthen voluntary organizations in Canada. It formally recognizes the voluntary sector as an important pillar of Canadian society along with the private and public sectors. The VSI provided funding to conduct the NSGVP in 2000. Current plans call for the survey to be repeated in 2003. The NSGVP offers a rich source of data on many aspects of charitable giving, volunteering and participating. It serves not only as a barometer of voluntary and civic action, but also points to areas where more in-depth study is needed.

With this decline, however, came an increase in the intensity of volunteering among those who gave their time. On average, each individual volunteer in 2000 contributed 162 hours during the year, up from 149 hours during 1997.

Nor was volunteering evenly distributed throughout the population. For example, in 2000, the top one-quarter of volunteers contributed an average of 471 hours of their time throughout the year, and accounted for 73% of total overall hours.

These figures were similar to 1997, when the top one-quarter of volunteers accounted for 72% of total hours but contributed on average 431 hours of their time. The top one-quarter of volunteers consisted of about 1.6 million people in 2000, compared with about 1.9 million in 1997.

Charitable giving: Fewer donations overall, but larger individual contributions

The increase in the total dollar value of donations between 1997 and 2000 appears to be the result of two factors: larger donations on the part of donors and growth in the population. During this three-year period, the population aged 15 and older grew by almost 2.5%. In 2000, individuals gave on average $259, an increase of $20 from 1997. However, the rate of increase in average donations since 1997 did not keep pace with the rate of increase of average household incomes of donors (8% versus 16%).

This combination could be expected to result in an increase in the absolute number of both donors and donations. But while the total number of donors has increased since 1997, the total number of individual donations declined from 74 million to 70 million. Donors reported an average of 3.7 donations in 2000, down slightly from 4.0 in 1997.

The survey revealed changes in the patterns of donating among age groups. The average donation of young people increased more since 1997 than the average donation seen in the older age groups. Among the youngest group (aged 15 to 24), the average annual donation increased from $79 to $118; among those aged 25 to 34, it went from $159 to $229. Among seniors aged 65 and over, the average annual donation declined from $328 to $308.

The way in which Canadians donate money also changed. In 2000, donors made 20% fewer gifts in response to door-to-door canvassing. The survey showed that more donors are now deciding in advance the amounts they will give and the organizations they will support. However, the proportion that reported they would give regularly to the same organization declined slightly.

Individuals with a university degree continued to give the most, an average of $480 in 2000. However, while 90% of these individuals donated in 1997, the rate dropped to 84% in 2000.

Religious organizations continued to receive the highest percentage of total donations. They received $2.4 billion, or 49% of the $4.9 billion total in 2000, down marginally from their share of 51% three years earlier. The proportion of individuals who made donations to religious organizations declined from 35% in 1997 to 32% last year.

Nature of volunteering appears to be changing

The nature of volunteering appears to be changing in Canada, with an increasing number of hours being contributed by a declining number of individuals. Since 1997, there has been a 13% decline in the number of volunteers, despite an almost 2.5% increase in the population aged 15 and over.

Accompanying the decline in the volunteer rate was a drop in the total number of hours contributed. Volunteers contributed a total of just over 1 billion hours in 2000, down 56 million hours from 1997. Even so, 1 billion hours was the equivalent of 549,000 full-time, year-round jobs, assuming a 40-hour work week for 48 weeks.

Compared with 1997, the volunteer rate declined for all age groups, most notably those aged 35 to 44, where it fell from 37% to 30%. Seniors aged 65 and over contributed an average of 269 hours - the highest level. That compares with a low of 130 hours for those aged 15 to 24.

Higher levels of household income increased the likelihood of volunteering. Only 17% of people with household incomes less than $20,000 volunteered, compared with 39% of those with incomes of $100,000 or more. However, volunteers with the lowest levels of income gave the most time.

The provinces: Highest rates of donation in Atlantic Canada and the West

There were substantial variations among the provinces in financial donations to non-profit and charitable organizations in 2000. These variations reflected the diversity of Canadians' economic circumstances, social values, cultural conventions, living conditions and social milieus.

People in Alberta and the three Atlantic provinces - Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia - had the highest rates of financial donations among the provinces in 2000. All were well above the national rate of 78%. British Columbia and Quebec had the lowest rates at 74%

Between 1997 and 2000, the percentage of the population that made donations increased in four provinces: Alberta, from 75% to 85%; Prince Edward Island, from 83% to 86%; Nova Scotia, from 83% to 87%; and Manitoba, from 81% to 84%.

Manitoba residents donated an average of $383 in 2000 - highest among the provinces. They were followed by Alberta residents with an average of $369. The lowest average donations were recorded in Quebec ($117) and Newfoundland ($182).

Volunteer rates highest on the Prairies and in P.E.I.

Participation in volunteer activities was highest in the Prairie provinces and in Prince Edward Island in 2000 and lowest in Quebec and British Columbia.

About 42% of the population of Saskatchewan engaged in volunteer activity last year, compared with the national rate of 27%. Saskatchewan was followed by Alberta (39%), Prince Edward Island (37%), Manitoba (36%) and Nova Scotia (34%).

However, compared with 1997, rates declined in every province except Prince Edward Island. The largest declines occurred in Ontario, from 32% to 25%, and in British Columbia, from 32% to 26%.

Volunteers in the Atlantic provinces contributed the most hours on average, ranging from 183 hours in Prince Edward Island to 206 hours in Newfoundland. In contrast, volunteers in the Prairie provinces contributed the least, ranging from 139 hours in Alberta to 154 in Saskatchewan. Compared with 1997, Alberta was the only province to show a decline, albeit slight, in the average number of hours volunteered.

One-half of population involved in civic participation

The third component of the survey asked questions about other forms of involvement in society. Respondents were asked a series of questions about membership in local associations and organizations, their attendance at meetings and voting in elections. They were also asked about how they stayed informed about news and public affairs.

Just over half (51%) of the population aged 15 and over reported that they were members of, or participants in, at least one community organization, such as a community association, service club or union - virtually the same proportion as in 1997.

As was the case in 1997, the most common organizations or groups in which respondents were involved in 2000 were work-related. More than one in five individuals belonged to a work-related group, such as a union or professional association, up slightly from 1997.

There were notable declines in civic participation among individuals with a university degree, among whom the rate fell from 74% to 67%. Similarly, among those reporting household income of $100,000 or more, the rate fell from 73% to 63%. These declines paralleled drops in volunteering within these groups.

The report Caring Canadians, involved Canadians: Highlights from the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (71-542-XIE) is now available free on Statistics Canada's Web site (http://www.statcan.gc.ca). Look under Our products and services, Free publications, and then Social conditions. It can also be purchased in paper format (71-542-XPE, $15).

For more information about the current survey results and related products and services, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (1-888-297-7355; 613-951-7355; fax: 613-951-3012; ssd@statcan.gc.ca), Special Surveys Division.