Charitable Donations

Definition

Charitable donations measures the median amount donated by Winnipeggers per year. In other words, half of Winnipeggers who donated to charitable organizations donated greater than or equal to this amount, and half donated less than or equal to this amount.

Why This Matters

Charitable donations make a significant difference in the community, supporting organizations causes and values Canadians believe in and contributing to well-being. To support this giving, the Government of Canada provides income tax credits. The act of giving has also been shown to potentially increase the “psychological well-being, self-esteem or social status and reputation of donors themselves” (Turcotte, 2012, p. 18). The amount donated reflects a number of factors: “level of awareness that a need exists, feeling that one is able to make a difference, relative cost of the donation as a proportion of disposable income, strength of altruistic or pro-social values, desire for social recognition, psychological benefits related to giving, being solicited and how this is done” (Turcotte, 2012, p. 18).

Measurement and Limitations

Charitable donations measures the median amount donated by Winnipeggers each year, as captured by taxfiler data. According to Statistics Canada (2013), Charitable donor is defined as, “a taxfiler reporting a charitable donation amount on line 340 of the personal income tax form.” Charitable donation is defined as, “the allowable portion of total donations, as reported on the income tax return” (Statistics Canada, 2013).

Data Source

Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0130-01 (formerly CANSIM 111-0001)  Summary of charitable donors

Data is updated on Peg as it becomes available from the data providers.

References

Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0130-01  Summary of charitable donors

Turcotte, M. (2012). Charitable giving by Canadians. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/2012001/article/11637-eng.pdf