Less charity lately
Posted Dec 3, 2010 04:33:12 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canada’s charities are troubled by a sharp drop in donations over the past two years.
New figures from Statistics Canada show the number of Canadians giving to charity fell to 5.6 million last year, from 5.8 million in 2008.
The total amount donated dropped by nearly $1 billion, while the average age of donors has risen to 53, from 51 at the start of the decade.
Cathy Barr, vice-president of operations for the charity umbrella group Imagine Canada, says there is real concern the donor base is shrinking.
The new numbers also show that while fewer Canadians are giving to charity, the average amount of their donations has actually risen over the past decade from $190 to $250.
Bank of Nova Scotia spokesman Malcolm Burrows says the trend indicates a growing gap between wealthy Canadians, who have largely continued to make donations, and the middle class, who are finding it harder to give during trying economic times.
