The Daily, Tuesday, November 27, 2001. Charitable donors

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Charitable donors

Total charitable donations by Canadians in 2000 grew four times as fast as the number of donors.

Donations totalled $5.4 billion in 2000, up 9.2% from 1999 after adjustment for inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. The results for 2000 maintained the upward trend seen since 1991.

After declining slightly in 1999, the number of people reporting charitable donations rose from 5.4 million to 5.5 million in 2000, up 2.3%.

As in 1999, Manitoba had the highest percentage of taxfilers declaring charitable donations in 2000. At 29 donors per 100 taxfilers, Manitoba ranked just ahead of Ontario (28) and Saskatchewan (27). The national average remained steady at 26 donors per 100 taxfilers.

In 2000, all provinces and territories posted increases in donors except Newfoundland, which saw a slight decline of 0.2%. The largest increase was recorded in Nunavut (+9.5%), followed by Yukon (+4.9%) and Alberta (+3.4%).

Total donations increased in every province and territory except the Northwest Territories, where they fell 2.5%. The largest percentage changes were in Nunavut (+14.1%) and Ontario (+12.4%).

The median donation in Canada was $190 in 2000, up 2.8% from 1999. This means that half of the donations by Canadian taxfilers were above $190, and half were below.

Among the provinces and territories, Nunavut had the highest median donation, $340, in 2000, and Prince Edward Island was second at $300. In 1999, Nunavut and Prince Edward Island shared the top spot, with the same median donation.

Ontarians reported $2.7 billion in charitable donations in 2000, more than half the Canadian total. Ontario residents made up 37% of taxfilers and 41% of Canadian donors.

Note: The databank on charitable donors provides information on taxfilers who claimed a tax credit for charitable donations on their income tax return in 2000. Only amounts given to charities and approved organizations for which official tax receipts were provided can be deducted. It is possible to carry donations forward for up to five years after the year in which they were made. Therefore, donations reported for the 2000 taxation year could include donations that were made in any of the five previous years but were claimed in 2000. According to tax laws, taxfilers are permitted to claim both their donations and those made by their spouses to get better tax benefits. Consequently, the number of persons who made charitable donations may be higher than the number who claimed tax credits.

The databank for charitable donors (13C0014, variable price) is available for Canada, the provinces and territories, cities, towns, census metropolitan areas, census divisions, forward sortation areas (the first three characters of the postal code) and letter carrier routes.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (613-951-9720; fax: 613-951-4745; saadinfo@statcan.gc.ca), Small Area and Administrative Data Division.