Charitable donations from Albertans | Calgary Herald

Article content material

Charitable giving by Canadians hit its lowest level in 20 years in 2020, as general giving continues to say no.

Article content material

In line with a research from the Fraser Institute, the share of Canadian tax filers who donated to charity fell from 25.5 per cent in 2000 to 19.1 per cent in 2020 — which is the latest 12 months of comparable information in Canada. In Alberta in 2020, solely 17.7 per cent of taxpayers claimed charitable donations.

Article content material

“The vacation season is a time to replicate on charitable giving, and the information reveals Canadians are persistently much less charitable yearly, which suggests charities face better challenges to safe sources to assist these in want,” stated Jake Fuss, the senior coverage analyst with the Fraser Institute and co-author of the research.

“A smaller proportion of Canadians are donating to registered charities than what we noticed in earlier a long time, and those that are donating are donating much less.”

Article content material

Alberta noticed a median greenback worth of all charitable donations of $2,883 in 2020, which was the best common donation whole within the nation. Nevertheless, the prairie province positioned fifth after Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island for the share of individuals donating.

Total, Albertans donated 0.61 per cent of their earnings that 12 months.

Canadians donated 0.49 per cent of their earnings in 2020, which is the bottom quantity since 2000.

In 2020, Canadians have been grappling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which price many individuals their jobs, well being and different elements of their lives. However generosity in Canada has been declining because it peaked at 0.72 per cent of Canadians’ earnings in 2006.

“This decline in generosity in Canada undoubtedly limits the flexibility of Canadian charities to enhance the standard of life of their communities and past,” stated Fuss.

The research discovered that Manitoba had the best proportion of tax filers that donated, whereas Newfoundland & Labrador had the bottom. Manitobans additionally donated the best proportion of their earnings, whereas Quebec gave the bottom.

The Fraser Institute is a non-partisan Canadian public coverage think-tank.

sbabych@postmedia.com