Canadians give both money and time

At a time when you might expect Canadians to pull in their horns, charitable donations of money and time remained constant. In 2010, almost 24 million Canadians ó or 84% of the population aged 15 and over ó donated on average $446 to a charity or non-profit for a total of $10.6 billion. This is unchanged since 2007, despite the recession of 2008-2009.

At the same time, says Statistics Canada, 13.3 million people ó 47% of the population ó volunteered on average 156 hours in 2010 through a group or an organization. In fact, the 2.1 billion hours volunteered is the equivalent of 1.1 million full-time jobs, assuming 40 hours a week for 48 weeks. That, too, is in line with 2007 numbers.

The data come from StatsCan's 2010 Survey of Giving, Volunteering Participating, the fifth of the series. The first survey of this type was done in 1997, the last in 2007.

Those who donate money, says StatsCan, are likely to be older, have a higher household income and a formal education. Or, they attend weekly religious services or meetings. Those who volunteer the most hours are likely to be older with no children at home, widowed or no longer in the workforce. Or, they attend weekly religious services or meetings. The highest participation rate, however, was among younger Canadians.

Geographically, the Atlantic provinces ó led by Newfoundland and Labrador (92%) and Prince Edward Island (91%) ó can boast the highest proportion of their population making financial donations. The 2010 national average was 84%.