Giving & Volunteering

Our research team tracks and analyzes the various ways Canadians engage with charities and nonprofit organizations.

This includes measuring the levels of charitable giving as well as how and why Canadians volunteer in their communities.

We do this in order to stimulate support and engagement in the nonprofit sector.

Key Findings

Canadians donated nearly $9 billion in 2004
2 billion volunteer hours were given
65% of teenagers volunteer, representing the highest level of involvement of any age group
Immigrants give larger annual donations on average
21% of Canadians provide 82% of the value of all donations
Volunteers who benefit from some form of support from their employer contribute one-third more hours than other volunteers
The Yukon and the Northwest Territories have the second and third highest rates of volunteering in the country; residents of Nunavut had the highest rates of helping each other directly on their own (unpaid babysitting, providing medical or personal care, helping with taxes or shopping)

Did you know that there are 161,000 nonprofilts and charities in Canada?

Did you know that Canada’s nonprofit and voluntary sector is the 2nd largest in the world?

The sector represents $79.1 billion or 7.8% of the gross domestic product

The sector is larger than automotive and manufacturing. It generates $112 billion in revenues and employs 2 million people

Canadians donated $10 billion in 2007

Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick have the highest donor rates.

Canadians volunteered 2.1 billion hours in 2007

Young Canadians aged 15 to 24 are more likely to volunteer than Canadians in any other age group

One percent of nonprofits command 60% of all revenues flowing to the sector

Canadians with the lowest household incomes give a greater percentage of their income than others

Saskatchewan has the highest volunteer rate in the country, followed by the Northwest Territories and the Yukon

Those exposed to giving and volunteering activities early in life are more likely to continue those behaviours as adults

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