The percentage of Canadians who file taxes and donate to registered charities continues to decline, according to the Fraser Institute.
The conservative think tank says its Generosity Index has shown a mostly steady decline between 2006 and 2016 — the most recent year for which statistics are available.
According to the report, 20.4 per cent of tax filers donated to a charity in 2016, down from a high of 24.6 per cent a decade earlier.
The same trend generally holds for the percentage of aggregate income donated to charity — so the sum of the total income earned by every individual in each jurisdiction.
The figures do not include not-for-profit corporations.
Alberta follows trend
Alberta has also seen a drop in donations, and ranks fifth among the provinces and territories in terms of the percentage of tax filers giving money, at 21 per cent.
Manitoba tops the list with 23.8 per cent of tax filers donating.
As a percentage of aggregate income, Alberta ranks third, and the province is first when it comes to the average annual amount donated.
“That’s in part because Albertans have a higher average income than the rest of the country,” said Jason Clemens, executive vice-president of the institute.
Not donor fatigue
Mount Royal University professor of philanthropy James Stauch says the nationwide drop in donations is not an example of what some call “donor fatigue.”
While the Fraser Institute says this is a problem for charities in terms of lower charitable receipts and the level of services they can deliver, Stauch says younger generations are now focusing more on giving their time to volunteer.
He says charities have begun to adapt to this new climate, finding creative ways to finance their activities including social enterprises.