While a recently released national study suggests fewer Canadians are donating to charities this year, local officials say things are different in Central Alberta.
“We feel that central Albertans are some of the most generous in the country,” Robert Mitchell, chief executive officer with United Way of Central Alberta told the Gazette.
“We've actually seen an increase in donors over the last couple of years.”
The 2013 generosity index from the Fraser Institute suggests that Canadians who do donate are donating less. The study is based from 2001-2011, on the most recent tax figures available.
It also suggests that Canadians are donating less than Americans. It is reported that in 2011, the average Canadian's yearly donation was $1,519 and the average American's yearly donation was $4,596 U.S.
It is also reported that Canadians lose more of their income to taxes than Americans do, and that Americans receive greater charitable tax deductions.
Mitchell said there have been new donors coming forward over the last few years.
“I think locally we're not quite sure we're seeing the same as this national survey is suggesting,” he said.
“The only trend that we have seen is that the number of donors are decreasing, but they're giving more.”
Convenience for people to donate also impacts the level of donations. For example, officials of The Salvation Army attend shopping malls during the holiday season for Canadians to donate while already out shopping.
Mitchell said the United Way of Central Alberta provides other options to make donating convenient.
This includes a “leadership matching challenge”, where every donation exceeding $1,000 will be matched by participating corporate sponsors.
There are also workplace campaigns and the option to donate online, which he said is becoming more popular.
“We are actually very fortunate to go into a lot of local companies and actually run campaigns that directly speak to employees who can then give by their payroll. So actually it is very easy for them to do that,” he said.
He encourages people to donate to charities – especially at this time of year – because there is a need.
“I think there is a great need out there. Every year the applications that we get are always more than the money we have to distribute,” he said.
There are also tax breaks available for donors, he said.
“We'd like to remind people of the tax breaks. If you donate $500, the tax saving to you is actually $200, so the only actual cost is $300,” he said.
According to the Fraser Institute, Canadians donated $8.7 billion to charities in the 2011 tax year, with Manitoba donating the most at 25.9 per cent. Alberta placed fifth at 23.9 per cent.
