The spirit of giving
By Fiona Wagner • Bankrate.com

When André Chagnon, Quebec billionaire and founder of Le Groupe Vidéotron Ltée, established a $114 billion charitable trust with expected annual disbursements of $100 million geared to fight obesity, poverty and drug addiction, it made the evening news.

But as Arthur Frantzreb, a noted American philanthropic consultant says, "The word philanthropy has its roots in the Greek language meaning 'love for mankind.' It was never meant to apply only to donors of thousands or millions of dollars."

Canada is a country of people who give of their time and money to a wide range of charitable organizations. And there are many benefits to volunteering one's time or donating money to a worthy cause, both for the donor and the recipient.

Portrait of a volunteer
Daphne Rolfe, of Georgetown, Ont., is the epitome of the average volunteer. She recently received an Ontario Volunteer Service Award for her 40 years of continuous service to Canadian Blood Services.

Rolfe started volunteering after her neighbour asked if she would help start-up a local blood donor clinic, but her belief in the work of the Red Cross kept her going.

"I'm originally from Britain and during the war the Red Cross was such a wonderful group for the troops," she says. "We had such a great respect for it."

She says the lasting appeal of volunteering is the opportunity to be of service to her community. "Just doing it, just helping. That's what it's all about."

This spirit of philanthropy is not new. Diligent volunteers have supported some of Canada's best-known nonprofit organizations -- the YMCA and YWCA, St. John Ambulance Association, Canadian Red Cross Society and the Victorian Order of Nurses -- for more than a century.

Volunteers can be found doing everything from stuffing envelopes to delivering meals, directing youth programs and serving on a board of directors. According to the National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations, 93 percent of volunteers participate in delivering programs and services, campaigning or fundraising, while the remaining seven percent engage in governance activities.

Regardless of how they participate, volunteers come from all walks of life. But the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy does paint this picture of a "typical" volunteer: she is female (54 percent of volunteers), between the ages of 35 and 54 (44 percent), married (65 percent), with some post-secondary education (53 percent) and a household income of more than $60,000 (49 percent).

The reasons people give for volunteering are varied. Some look to improve their job opportunities, fulfill religious obligations or explore their own strengths. But 95 percent of people volunteer for altruistic reasons -- simply because they believe in the cause supported by the organization.

The value of giving
So, just how giving are we?

"Canadians are generous in contributions to their communities both financially and of their time," says Lisa Hartford, manager of research communications at the CCP in Toronto.

According to its National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, approximately 91 percent of people surveyed gave money or in-kind donations to charitable and nonprofit organizations in 2000.

In 2003, nonprofit and voluntary organizations reported a total of $112 billion in yearly revenue. While eight percent of total revenue was received as gifts and donations from individuals, only three percent came from corporate sponsorships, donations and gifts.

"It's really important not to undervalue the individual contributions of Canadians," says Hartford. "The corporations and the big donors make the news but not the single mother in St. Boniface."

Meanwhile, approximately one in four Canadians (about 6.5 million people) volunteered in 19 million positions in 2000 -- equivalent to almost 1 million full-time jobs and an estimated payroll cost of more than $35 billion.

Charitable donations and tax write-offs
Not everyone gives with their time, though. In 2003, Canada's charitable and nonprofit sector received more than $8 billion in individual donations, and almost four of every five Canadians surveyed donated an average of $259 in 2000.

Of the 161,000 nonprofit and voluntary organizations operating across Canada in such diverse areas as sports and recreation, religion, social services, hospitals and universities or colleges, more than half of these charities are registered with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

This means they can provide donation receipts that can be used to claim provincial and federal nonrefundable tax credits, giving donors a warm and fuzzy feeling as well as a tax benefit.

For the first $200 donated, the tax credit is approximately 22 percent, but for any portion over $200, the taxable benefit almost doubles. As partners (married or common-law) can pool together receipts and even carry them forward for as many as five years, donations can be an effective way to reduce taxes.

Although only 13 percent of donors surveyed by the NSGVP said an income tax receipt was the reason for their donation, almost half reported that they or someone in their household intended to claim a receipt.

The NSGVP also found that donors claiming a tax credit made more donations (4.9 donations) and gave more ($447) than those not claiming a credit (2.8 donations and $110). However, this doesn't mean that Canada's rich are the most generous.

While lower income families making less than $20,000 a year donated 1.12 percent of their household income to charity in 2000, families making more than $100,000 only gave 0.42 percent.

"The trend is that those who have less income seem to give a lot more," says accountant Brenda Luci with Deacur Worthington & Associates in Georgetown, Ont. "It's like they know what it is to be down and they are very generous. It's rare to see someone who has a very high income to be generous with their donations."

How you can help
If you'd like to volunteer, but you're not sure how to get started, contact your local volunteer centre (there are more than 200 centres across Canada). Or, check out some online volunteer posting sites such as the Volunteer Opportunity Exchange or CharityVillage.ca.

If you decide to give money instead of time, it's important to ensure your charity of choice is legitimate. If you have any doubts, the CRA maintains a website with a searchable list of all registered charities. Or, you can ask the charity for its most recent annual report to see how it spends its -- and your -- money.

Fiona Wagner is a writer in Georgetown, Ont.