With charitable giving in decline in Canada, small charities now rely on GivingTuesday more than ever
TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2017 /CNW/ - Today is Canada's fifth-annual GivingTuesday. What started as an exciting grassroots movement is now the biggest day on Canada's charitable calendar, with dollars donated on GivingTuesday growing an incredible 353 per cent since 2012.
"While charitable giving has seen a worrisome decline in Canada in recent years, GivingTuesday has become a notable bright spot for the nation's charitable organizations," said Marina Glogovac, President and CEO, CanadaHelps. "Smaller charities, which rely on donations for up to half their annual revenue, have become especially dependent on this global day of giving."
Since 2010, Canada has slipped from 2nd in the CAF World Giving Index all the way down to 7th this year.
When taking inflation into account, Canadians claim about 7 per cent less on their tax returns than they did a decade ago, according to The Giving Report. This amounts to a shortage of roughly $600 million charitable dollars.
However, since being brought to Canada in 2013 by GIV3 and CanadaHelps, GivingTuesday has become indispensable to the fundraising efforts of small charities, and charities of all sizes. According to a survey conducted in December 2016, an estimated 6.2 million Canadians participated in GivingTuesday last year, whether through donating money (3.5M people), participating in food/clothing drives (2.4M), volunteering for a non-profit (2.2M), committing to a blood/organ donation (1.7M), or spreading the word through social media (1.5M).
Thanks to these ever-growing numbers, participating charities saw a 1719% increase in dollars donated on GivingTuesday last year when compared to the same day in 2012. And this year, thousands more Canadians are expected to take part on November 28th as GivingTuesday continues to gain traction across the country in its fifth year.
"With more than 6,000 partners and 42 civic groups working together, it's incredible to see that participation for GivingTuesday is at its highest level ever," says Lys Hugessen, President of The GIV3 Foundation. "It's really encouraging to see Canadians embrace the spirit of giving by supporting the causes and charities of their choice."
An interactive map of GivingTuesday partners on givingtuesday.ca shows participation in every province and territory. This year, onsite activations to support GivingTuesday are being held by CanadaHelps.org in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
To help your giving go even further, when you make a donation on GivingTuesday through CanadaHelps using a PayPal account, PayPal will match 1 per cent of donations. To learn more about how to get involved or view a full list of GivingTuesday partners and great campaigns, please visit GivingTuesday.ca.
About GivingTuesday (#GivingTuesdayCA)
GivingTuesday was launched in Canada in 2013 by GIV3 and CanadaHelps.org. GivingTuesday is a day for the entire charitable sector and encourages all Canadians to join the movement and give and volunteer for charities of their choice. GivingTuesday was originally founded in the US by 92nd Street Y in partnership with the UN Foundation. www.givingtuesday.ca
About GIV3
GIV3 is a movement of The GIV3 Foundation, a registered Canadian charity with a unique mission: to encourage more Canadians to be more giving (greater Giving, Inspiration, Volunteering). GIV3 does not represent any specific charity but encourages Canadians to give to any registered charities of their choice. www.giv3.ca
About CanadaHelps.org
CanadaHelps.org allows donors to quickly and safely donate and fundraise online for any registered Canadian charity and provides charities the secure online fundraising platform they need to succeed. CanadaHelps has facilitated over $800 million in donations to Canadian charities online since it launched in 2000. Over 1.6 million Canadians have donated to charities using CanadaHelps and over 18,000 Canadian charities fundraise using the CanadaHelps online tools. The mission of CanadaHelps is to inform, inspire and connect donors and charities and to democratize access to effective technology and education in the charitable sector. www.canadahelps.org
SOURCE CanadaHelps
Madison Francis, High Road, 416-644-2276, [email protected]; Shannon Craig, CanadaHelps, 416-628-6948 x2390, [email protected]
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