What we learned this year in our research

Rediscover some of our biggest research findings of 2020. 

This year, even the multitudes had multitudes. Alongside experiences that pushed us into new ways of doing things, we learned—a lot. 

Taking time to unravel the constant thread of this year’s shifts and happenings will definitely bring insights. In honour of that challenge, we thought we’d look back at some of our own research learnings from 2020. 

These findings are made possible by a dedicated Research Team at Charitable Impact, led by Ernesto Peña. By analyzing data from our own and other sources, we are able to uncover trends in how, why, when, and how much Canadians are giving. 

These metrics help us better grasp what motivates giving and how we can better meet the needs of donors like you. They also provide a gauge of Canadians’ collective generosity and shine a light on gaps in charitable giving. 

Spoiler alert: We discovered some very positive and inspiring things about donors across Canada, including those who give through Charitable Impact. And, we learned that we all have the potential to make a difference. 

On Charitable Impact, people give from the heart: When we looked at how love and charity intertwined on our own platform, we found that “love” (and its related terms) was one of the most-searched-for topics among donors. It was the top keyword search (when not accounting for searches based on location). 

Love means a lot to charities too. A number of Canadian charities that use the word “love” in their name or their description focus on a wide range of causes, including education, community, health, arts, and animals. Learn more. 

Donors are increasingly investing in the power of women and girls: Donor support is increasing for women and girls, but remains a relatively small portion of overall giving on our platform. 

Since Charitable Impact’s launch, donors have given close to $1 million to women and girls, and support has increased significantly over the past five years. However, giving to this cause is still a small percentage of overall giving. Learn more. 

We found the most charitable places in Canada: Led by Steinbach, Manitoba, residents in seven Canadian towns give on average between around 1% and 5% of their post-tax income to charity. This is significantly higher than the nationwide average on charitable giving, which sits below 1% of income (0.6%). 

What does that mean for you? If you are able to give more than 1% of your income to charity, you will sit among the country’s most charitable people. Get the full list of charitable places and learn more.

When you think of Canada’s more than 86K charities, think small: According to our research, the majority of Canadian registered charities operate on quite a small scale: 56% have annual revenues of less than $200,000. Within this group of small charities, most (at 35%) had annual operating revenue of between $10,000 and $49,999. 

For donors, that means that even small donations can go a long way for many organizations serving communities across Canada. Learn more and how you can make an even bigger difference by giving through your Impact Account. 

Our greatest finding of all this year has been about your generosity and kindness. If you have acted in the interest of others, we thank you. And we see all that you are doing to take care of yourself and each other. We will be sharing more data on just how much donors gave in 2020 and to what causes—stay tuned.