Is Canada’s culture of giving actually falling?
Some lament that rates of charitable giving and volunteering are on the decline. There is a false perception that too many charities pay their CEOs “over a million dollars with unlimited expenses” and non-profit misspending leaves only small portions of donations for actual charity.
Myths need to be dispelled and facts presented.
Volunteer Alberta compiled Statistics Canada data (visit www.volunteeralberta.ab.ca) clearly demonstrating Albertans are charitable with their time and money.
With donating, 85 per cent of Albertans gave financially in 2007 undefined an increase from 79 per cent in 2004 to 85 per cent in 2007.
Albertans donated the largest amounts ($596 average per person).
Fifty-two per cent of Albertans volunteered an average of 172 hours in 2007, up from 48 per cent in 2004 (also higher than the Canadian average of 48 per cent). Over 1,445,000 Albertans volunteer their time.
Regarding CEO pay, Canada Revenue Agency already requires charities to disclose highest compensated staff and rates of pay (donors can easily check this at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/charities).
Ask people working in the non-profit sector. But with few exceptions, most employees are not making wages anywhere near those in the private or public sectors.
Targeted research, planning and administration are necessary for efficient program delivery. Moreover, of Alberta’s roughly 19,000 non-profit/voluntary organizations, 58 per cent are completely volunteer run.
Albertans are generous and they naturally want to live in stronger and more vibrant communities.
This culture of giving does not mean we should let up. Instead, let’s continue researching where our financial contributions make the biggest difference in our communities and explore ways of volunteering using our talents and skills in more specialized ways.
Karen Lynch, executive director, Volunteer Alberta, Edmonton
Read more here.