In 2018, Canadians Want Convenient Ways to Contribute to Causes They Trust and Feel Connected to

VANCOUVER, Jan. 17, 2018 /CNW/ - As we head into a new year and Canadians from coast to coast plan their budgets for 2018, the final instalment of a four-part independent study was released today by the Angus Reid Institute (ARI) and CHIMP (Charitable + Impact) to gain an unbiased understanding of the charitable-giving landscape in Canada.

The four-part study found that Canadians, by and large, are predisposed to be charitable, with 71% of Canadians agreeing that it is their responsibility to make the world a better place. However, over half (58%) of those who say they should be doing more to support charitable causes note their apprehensiveness about the effectiveness of charities as their reason for not doing so.

While 84% of Canadians have donated to at least one charitable cause in the last two years, much of their charitable behaviour is reactionary. Two-thirds of Canadians (66%) have donated a dollar or two at checkout in the last two years, and over half (56%) of Canadians have responded to at least one request for donation from a friend or family member in the past two years. Only one in five Canadians reported providing "ongoing support" for at least two charitable causes. People donate when the mechanism is streamlined, or when the ask is coming from a person they trust.

Personal connection to charitable causes is an important factor in Canadians' charitable decision making, as the study finds 50% of Canadians would donate more if they could find a perfect cause for them. The importance of personal connection is exemplified by Canada's immigrant population, seven-in-ten of whom surveyed (71%) say their religious beliefs have a strong influence on their giving habits, while fewer than half (46%) of the general population report the same. Canadians born outside Canada are also 33% more likely to report than the general population that they should be doing more when it comes to charitable contribution. From poverty reduction, to faith-based issues, to human rights, people born outside Canada are more likely to have donated to each of the 11 charitable areas canvassed in this survey.

As charities enter 2018, the study indicates that they must evolve the ways in which they engage Canadians. According to the data, 40% of the country reports that they would give more to charity if they were approached in the right way, which is especially true for those 35-and-under, with 54% of millennials agreeing with this statement. Millennials are 50% more likely than older generations to support charitable causes through social media.

"One of the resounding conclusions of this study is that new engagement methods are going to play a pivotal role in the coming years in bolstering Canadians' interactions with charitable causes," said Shachi Kurl, Executive Director of the Angus Reid Institute. "Canadians as a whole feel a responsibility to be charitable, but a disconnect exists currently between their desire to participate and their ability to do so."

Despite a lack of appropriate avenues for engagement, Canadians 35-and-under report being more trusting of charities than older generations. However, they express a greater lack of control with regard to which charities their donations go to than their parents' generations, and that their money is not going towards the causes they care most about. Finding a cause they believe in appears to be a major hindrance for millennials.

"It's exciting to learn how much new Canadians are giving back to community. The numbers show that most Canadians want to give more, but it's new Canadians who are actually doing it," said John Bromley, CEO & Founder of CHIMP. "Now, it's up to the charitable sector to give newer Canadians, and everyone else, the tools and resources they need to make informed decisions and be confident in their giving."

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About CHIMP:

CHIMP (Charitable + Impact) is an online giving platform for Canadians that makes it easy to support any charity in Canada, raise money with others, and track impact over time. CHIMP has helped over 90,000 Canadians donate close to $250 million to 1000s of charities nationwide.

About Angus Reid Institute:

The Angus Reid Institute (ARI) was founded in October 2014 by pollster and sociologist, Dr. Angus Reid. ARI is a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation established to advance education by commissioning, conducting and disseminating to the public accessible and impartial statistical data, research and policy analysis on economics, political science, philanthropy, public administration, domestic and international affairs and other socio-economic issues of importance to Canada and its world.

SOURCE CHIMP

or to secure an individual or joint interview with John Bromley and Shachi Kurl, please contact Kathleen Reid at [email protected] or 604-724-1242.