An Analysis of Canadian Philanthropic Support for International Development and Relief. Don Embuldeniya David Lasby Larry McKeown

Transcription

1 An Analysis of Canadian Philanthropic Support for International Development and Relief Don Embuldeniya David Lasby Larry McKeown

2 An Analysis of Canadian Philanthropic Support for International Development and Relief Don Embuldeniya David Lasby Larry McKeown January 02, 2002 Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 425 University Avenue, Suite 700 Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1T6 Telephone: (416) , Fax: (416)

3 Acknowledgements This report was commissioned by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada to provide an analysis of Canadians who donate to international causes and Canadian charities involved in international development and relief. At the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, Dr. Michael Hall, Vice President-Research, provided project direction and valuable comments to this report. Monique Newton provided assistance with project co-ordination and copy editing. Norah McClintock served as editor. We would also like to acknowledge Nazeer Ladhani, CEO of the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, for comments and suggestions on an earlier draft of this report. Canadian Centre for Philanthropy i

4 Table of Contents Acknowledgements... i Table of Contents... ii List of Tables...iii List of Figures... v Executive Summary... vi Introduction... 1 Part 1: An Analysis of International Donors... 2 Part 2: An Analysis of International Charities Conclusion and Recommendations References Appendix A: The National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating Appendix B: T3010 Methodological Issues Appendix C: T3010 Registered Charity Information Return Form Appendix D: Examples of Campaigns for Support of International Causes Appendix E: List of Charities Working in International Development and Relief by International Revenues Canadian Centre for Philanthropy ii

5 List of Tables Table 1.1: Donation Rate, Total Amount Donated and Average Donation by Donor, Table 1.2: Average Amount Donated by Organization Supported, Table 1.3: Average Number of Organizations Supported by Organization Supported, Table 1.4: Donor Rate by Organization Type and Donor Status, Table 1.5: Organizational Support by International and Regular Donors, Table 1.6: Percentage of Population & Total Donation Value by Donor Status and Demographic Characteristics, Table 1.7: Planning Ahead vs. Giving Spontaneously by Donor Status, Table 1.8: Motivations for Donating by Donor Status, Table 1.9: Number of Donations, Proportion of Total Value of Donations and Average Donation by Method of Donation and Organization Type, Table 2.1: Distribution of Program Areas by International Emphasis, Table 2.2: Amounts and Sources of International Charities by Total Revenues, Table 2.3: Amounts and Sources of International Charities by Total International Revenues, Table 2.4: Percentage of Total International Revenues of Charities by International Emphasis, Table 2.5: Total Expenditures of International Charities, Table 2.6: Percentage of Total International Expenditures of Charities by Revenue Class, Table 2.7: Charities with Paid Staff by Revenue Class Based on Total Revenue, Table 2.8: Average Number of Paid Staff by Revenue Size, Canadian Centre for Philanthropy iii

6 Table 2.9: Incidence and Average Number of Paid Staff, Table A1: Donation Rate, Total Amount Donated and Average Donation by Donor, Table A2: Average Amount Donated by Organization Supported Table A3: Average Number of Organizations Supported by Organization Supported, Table A4: Donor Rate by Organization Type and Donor Status, Table A5: Organizational Support by International and Regular Donors, Table A6: Percentage of Population & Total Donation Value by Donor Status and Demographic Characteristics, Table A7: Planning Ahead vs. Giving Spontaneously by Donor Status, Table A8: Motivations for Donating by Donor Status, Table A9: Number of Donations, Proportion of Total Value of Donations and Average Donation by Method of Donation and Donor Status, Canadian Centre for Philanthropy iv

7 List of Figures Figure 1.1: Concentration of Support for International Organizations, Figure 1.2: Differences in Perceptions of Barriers to Donating: International Donors and Top International Donors Figure 1.3: Planning Ahead vs. Giving Spontaneously by Donor Status, 1997 and Figure 1.4: Income Tax Credit as a Reason for Making a Donation by Donor Status, 1997 and Figure 1.5: Reasons For Not Donating More by Donor Status, 1997 and Figure 2.1: Distribution by International Emphasis Figure 2.2: Distribution by Size of Total Annual Revenues Figure 2.3: International Charities by CCRA Designation, Figure 2.4: Distribution of Program Areas, Figure 2.5: Areas Outside of Canada in Which International Charities are Active, Figure 2.6: International Revenues of Charitable Foundations by Revenue Class, Figure 2.7: International Revenues of Charitable Organizations by Revenue Class, Figure A1: Concentration of Support for International Organizations, Figure A2: Barriers to Donating by Donor Status, Canadian Centre for Philanthropy v

8 Executive Summary Canadians provide only modest philanthropic support for international development and relief efforts. To date, there has been surprisingly little information about the organizations that engage in international philanthropy and the characteristics and behaviours of donors who support these organizations. This has made it difficult to assess why philanthropic support is so modest and whether it can be increased. This report, commissioned by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, provides an analysis of Canadians who donate to international development and relief causes and of Canadian charities involved in international activities. The first part examines international donors, using information from the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP). The second part examines the characteristics of international charities, using information from Canada Customs and Revenue Agency s (CCRA) 1997 T3010 Registered Charity Information Return. The report concludes by suggesting research that could assist efforts to stimulate the capacity of international charities to carry on their work and attract more giving to international development and relief causes. Our analysis shows that, relative to their support of other charitable causes, Canadians provide only modest amounts of support to international development and relief efforts. Although 78% of Canadians (aged 15 and older) donate to charity, only 5% donate to international organizations and these organizations receive only about 3.4% of the total value of all donations. In addition, the bulk of these donations comes from the top 25% of international donors (about 300,000 Canadians) who provide about 83% of the total dollar value of all donations to international development and relief causes. Nevertheless, there appears to have been substantial growth in the amount of donations provided to international organizations between 1997 and 2000, which far surpassed the overall growth in charitable donations. International organizations appear to attract super donors. Donors to international organizations tend to support a variety of causes and give larger donations than other donors to all the causes they support. Compared to other donors, these donors tend to respond through mail solicitation, places of worship, television and radio appeals, and donors approaching organizations on their own. They are more likely than other donors to plan their donations in advance and to donate regularly to the same organizations. They are also less likely to identify any barriers that prevent them from giving. The international donor is more likely than other donors to be religiously active, older, better educated, to have a higher household income, to be female and married. They are more likely to cite religious motivations for donating and to report giving because of a feeling that they owe something to their community. International donors are, however, also more likely than other donors to report that the tax credits they receive for their donations play a role in their decision making about giving. This is not particularly surprising in light of the size of their donations. International organizations appear to have attracted the support of a set of donors that have a number of appealing characteristics from a fundraising perspective. They appear to be highly motivated, in part, for religious reasons, and to be willing and able to make relatively large donations in support of the causes they believe in. These donors are also likely to be loyal and consistent supporters. Canadian Centre for Philanthropy vi

9 Our review of available data on the size and scope of charitable organizations working in the area of international development and relief shows that, compared to other causes, there is only a modest level of support for international development. Only about 2.5% of Canadian registered charities had some international development and relief involvement in Altogether, these international charities received $1.9 billion in revenues. However, most of the revenues go to a small number (1.9% or 34) of large charities that account for 69% of the total revenues for the international sector. Their most common area of activity is in the delivery of social services and in literacy/education/training. In terms of geographic focus, they are most likely to be involved in Latin America and the Caribbean. Most of the revenues for international charities come from gifts, which account for 41% of revenues for the sector, followed by government sources of funding (31%). Despite the fact that 40% of all international charities engaged in one or more business-like activities (e.g., gift shops, parking, banquet facilities), this accounts for a very small (10.5%) of total income. Based on available, yet dated, data on the charitable sector as a whole, it appears that international development organizations receive substantially less funding from government than do other types of charities (Sharpe, 1994). Much of the international sector is comprised of small organizations that have little or no paid staff. Almost 9 in 10 (87%) of international charities had revenues of less than $1 million in 1997 and together they account for only 8% of the total revenues of the sector. Less than one half (46%) of the international charities report having paid staff. The report concludes that there is modest but not insubstantial support for international development and relief efforts in Canada, and that it appears to be growing. However, on the organizational side, international development activity appears to be dominated by a small number of large organizations. A number of suggestions are provided regarding the improvement of support for international development and relief. We suggest that efforts should be made to broaden the support these organizations receive from a small core of super donors who support international charities as well as a variety of other causes and who give larger amounts than other donors. On the organizational side, efforts should be directed to improve the capacity of the almost 9 in 10 international charities that are operating on revenues of less than $1 million per year with little or no paid staff. Such efforts should focus both on improving fundraising capacity and improving government support. Finally, a number of recommendations for further research are made. These include: conducting research on core-supporters of international organizations and their motivations; doing a comparative analysis of the other types of causes that core-supporters donate to and the reasons for such support; assessing the stability of support from core-supporters; assessing further the sources of funding for international organizations; assessing the competitive pressures they face in the area of fundraising; and better describing the programs and services they provide. Canadian Centre for Philanthropy vii

10 Introduction Canadians provide modest philanthropic support for international development and relief efforts and there is surprisingly little information about the organizations that engage in international philanthropy or the characteristics and behaviours of donors who support these organizations. This has made it difficult to assess why this support is modest and whether it can be enhanced. The Aga Khan Foundation Canada commissioned the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy to assess current levels of Canadian support for international development and relief efforts and the financial resources that Canadian charities have available to support these efforts. The Centre was also asked to provide recommendations for further research that would assist efforts to enhance support for international development and relief efforts. International development and relief efforts attract substantially less charitable donations than many other causes. As this report shows, only 6% of donors supported international causes by making financial donations, giving an average of $138 dollars. The contributions of just over 1.2 million Canadians aged 15 and over totalled $167 million in 2000, according to the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP) (Hall, McKeown & Roberts, 2001). In comparison, total donations in 2000 to all causes amounted to over $4.9 billion. Looking at the resources that charities have to devote to international development and relief efforts, the most recent data available shows that, in 1997, fewer than 3% of Canada s approximately 70,000 registered charities were involved in international development and relief activities. All told, they received $1.9 billion in revenues. Many are small, volunteer-run groups with little in the way of resources while a small number of larger, staffed organizations command most of the financial revenues for international development. The mandates of these organizations vary from raising awareness of global issues to carrying out specific economic, health, education and other projects abroad. This report examines the amount and nature of support that Canada provides to international development and relief through the charitable contributions of individual Canadians and through the activities of Canadian charities. The first part uses data from the 2000 NSGVP to examine the characteristics of donors and donations to international organizations. The second part focuses on the support provided by Canadian charities with international involvement using data from the 1997 Registered Charity Information Return (Form T3010) that charities are required to file annually with the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA). The report concludes by suggesting research that could contribute toward a better understanding of how to stimulate the ability of international charities to carry on their work and attract more support to international causes from Canadians. Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 1

11 Part 1: An Analysis of International Donors We begin by examining the amount and nature of financial support that Canadians provide to international organizations and identifying the segments of the Canadian population that provide this support. The report relies mainly on data from the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP), 1 however, comparisons are made with data from the 1997 NSGVP to identify noteworthy changes and possible trends over the three years between the two surveys. 2 As we will show, donors to international organizations are different from other donors in many ways. For example, they tend to donate larger amounts and to donate to a wide variety of types of charitable organizations. They are also more likely than other donors to be older, female and married. They tend to be religiously active, more educated, to have higher household incomes and to be more likely than other donors to plan their giving in advance. Definitions and Limitations In this report, we define international donors as those individuals who, according to the NSGVP, made at least one donation to an international organization. The NSGVP classifies donationreceiving organizations into 12 major categories based upon the International Classification of Nonprofit Organizations (ICNPO). 3 One of these categories is International Organizations, which are defined as organizations promoting understanding between people of various countries and historical backgrounds and also those providing relief during emergencies and promoting development and welfare abroad. Although the ICNPO classification further subdivides International Organizations into four sub-categories: exchange/friendship/cultural programs; development assistance associations; international development and relief organizations; and international human rights and peace organizations, most international donations were not assigned specifically to any of these sub-categories by the NSGVP. For this reason, we deal with international donors as a single broad category. It should be noted that there are many other types of organizations involved with international causes, such as universities, religious congregations, foundations and environmental groups. However, because their involvement is less direct they are not defined as international organizations under the ICNPO classification. NSGVP data does not allow us to identify what proportion of donations to these other organizations should be assigned to international causes. 1 The survey was conducted by Statistics Canada in the Fall of Interviews were conducted with 14,724 Canadians aged 15 and older who were asked about their giving, volunteering and participating over the previous year. 2 The tables in the text of this section deal with data from the 2000 survey. Copies of all of these tables presenting data from the 1997 survey are found in Appendix A. 3 A list of these twelve organization types can be found in Appendix A. Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 2

12 Therefore, only donations specifically identified as having been made to international organizations are included in our analysis. This report uses the term international donors to refer to individuals who made at least one donation to international organizations and regular donors to refer to individuals who made at least one donation to any type of organization. It should also be pointed out that the NSGVP focuses most of its questions on the individual donor rather than the individual donation. This makes it impossible to tie many of the survey responses directly to donations to international organizations. Questions about motivations and barriers, for example, deal with respondents donations to all organizations, not just their donations to international organizations. However, as we will see, there is ample reason to believe that the international donor, as defined using the criteria below, is significantly different from other donors and from other Canadians. International Donors and Donations According to the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP), 78% of Canadians (just over 19 million people) aged 15 and over made charitable donations totalling $4.9 billion during But only 5% of all Canadians (1.2 million people) and 6% of all donors made donations to international development organizations. Collectively, these international donations totalled just over $167 million. A similar level of support was seen in 1997 when 78% of Canadians (18.5 million people) donated a total of $4.4 billion. As in 2000, only 5% of all Canadians (1.1 million people) and 6% of all donors supported international organizations and donated a somewhat smaller total of $114 million. Table 1.1: Donation Rate, Total Amount Donated and Average Donation by Donor, 2000 Donor Status % of Canadians Total Amount Donated, All Organizations ($ millions) Total Amount Donated, International Organizations ($ millions) Average Amount Donated ($) All Organizations Average Amount Donated ($) International Organizations Regular Donors 78% $4,939 $167 $259 $9 International Donors 5% $797 $167 $660 $138 This small percentage of Canadians who donated to international development organizations are markedly different from regular donors. In 2000, regular donors gave an average of $259 to all causes (Table 1.1). International donors (those who made at least one donation to an international organization) donated an average of $660 to all causes or over two and a half times as much. Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 3

13 Table 1.2: Average Amount Donated by Organization Supported, 2000 Organization Type / Type of Organization Supported Average Donation to Organization Supported All Organizations $259 International Organizations $138 Religious Organizations $310 Professional Associations & Unions $142 Philanthropic & Voluntarism Promotion Organizations $104 Organizations Not Elsewhere Classified $82 Environmental Organizations $75 Health Organizations $74 Development & Housing Organizations $60 Social Services Organizations $55 Law, Advocacy & Politics Organizations $53 Arts, Culture & Recreation Organizations $51 Education & Research Organizations $33 This high level of support by international donors translates into large donations for international organizations. International donors gave an average of $138 to international development organizations in 2000 (Table 1.2). This level of support is almost unsurpassed. Only religious organizations and professional associations and unions were more generously supported by their donors. International donors support a wider variety of causes than do regular donors. In 2000, international donors donated to an average of 3.7 types of organizations (Table 1.3), while regular donors donated to an average of 2.4 types. Looking at the donor rate, Table 1.4 shows that international donors were more likely to be donors to most causes. Compared to regular donors, however, they were more likely to donate to Social Services organizations, Religious organizations and Philanthropic and Voluntarism Promotion organizations (e.g., United Ways). (Table 1.4). Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 4

14 Table 1.3: Average Number of Organizations Supported by Organization Supported, 2000 Donor Status Average Number of Organization Types Supported Regular Donors 2.4 International Donors 3.7 Development & Housing Donors 3.8 Professional Associations & Union Donors 3.8 Law, Advocacy & Politics Donors 3.7 Donors, Organizations not Elsewhere Classified 3.7 Environmental Donors 3.5 Arts, Culture & Recreation Donors 3.5 Education & Research Donors 3.3 Philanthropic Intermediaries & Voluntarism Promotion Donors 3.2 Social Services Donors 3.0 Religion Donors 3.0 Health Donors 2.7 Table 1.4: Donor Rate by Organization Type and Donor Status, 2000 Organization Supported Regular Donors International Organizations 6.3% 100.0% Health Organizations 68.8% 66.9% Social Services Organizations 48.1% 56.8% Religious Organizations 41.0% 46.3% Education & Research Organizations 23.9% 27.3% Philanthropic & Voluntarism Promotion Organizations 18.2% 22.3% Arts, Culture & Recreation Organizations 16.7% 21.3% Environmental Organizations 6.5% 10.8% Law, Advocacy & Politics Organizations 5.1% 8.4% Organizations Not Elsewhere Classified 2.6% 3.1% Development & Housing Organizations 1.6% 1.8% Professional Associations & Unions 0.4% 0.2% International Donors Table 1.5 shows the average donation international and regular donors made to each organization type and the percentage of total donations each type of organization received. As the table shows, international donors made larger average donations than did regular donors to all types of organizations except Professional Associations and Unions. In terms of the percentage of total donations, international donors allocated a higher percentage of their total donations to Religious, International and Development and Housing organizations than did regular donors. Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 5

15 They allocated smaller percentages to every other type of organization, particularly Health, Philanthropic and Voluntarism Promotion, and Arts, Culture and Recreation organizations, which received only half as much support from international donors as they did from regular donors. Table 1.5: Organizational Support by International and Regular Donors, 2000 Organization Type Regular Donors Average Donation % Total Value of Donations International Donors Average Donation % Total Value of Donations International Organizations $6 3.4% $ % Arts, Culture & Recreation Organizations $8 3.3% $11 1.6% Education & Research Organizations $8 3.1% $15 2.3% Health Organizations $ % $58 8.8% Social Services Organizations $ % $51 7.7% Environmental Organizations $5 1.9% $7 1.1% Development & Housing Organizations $1 0.4% $4 0.7% Law, Advocacy & Politics Organizations $3 1.0% $5 0.7% Philanthropic & Voluntarism Promotion Organizations $19 7.3% $22 3.3% Religious Organizations $ % $ % Professional Associations & Unions $1 0.2% $0 0.0% Organizations Not Elsewhere Classified $2 0.8% $1 0.2% The Concentration of Support for International Organizations Support for international causes comes from a very small segment of the Canadian population (about 5% of the population and 6% of donors). Similarly, the bulk of support for international causes comes from a minority of international donors. If we order international donors according to the amount they donated to international causes and divide them into quartiles (four equally sized groups), we can see that the top 25% of international donors (those who donated $125 or more) accounted for 83% of the total value of donations to international organizations (Figure 1.1). This concentration of support is not unique to international organizations the top 25% of regular donors accounted for 82% of the total value of donations to all organizations in 2000 and 80% of the total value in 1997 (Hall et. al., 1998; Hall et. al., 2001). What is noteworthy, however, is that the top 25% of international donors consists of only 341,000 Canadians (or 1.4% of the population aged 15 and older) who collectively contributed $138 million of the total $167 million donated to international organizations. With support for international causes concentrated in such a small segment of the Canadian population, it is vital to have a good understanding of the attributes and attitudes of these donors. In the pages that follow, we distinguish top international donors (the 1.4% of Canadians that Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 6

16 provide 83% of the donations to international organizations) from regular donors and international donors. Figure 1.1: Concentration of Support for International Organizations, % 75% % Donors % Total Value 83% 50% 25% 0% 25% 25% 25% 25% 14% 1% 3% $1-$9 $10-$24 $25-$124 >=$125 Social and Economic Characteristics of International Donors How do international donors differ from other donors? As Table 1.6 shows, compared to Canadians as a whole and to regular donors, international donors are more likely to be older, female, and married. They also tend to be better educated, to have higher household incomes and to be religiously active. Age. In terms of age, youth are under-represented among international donors, compared to their distribution in the population. Although they make up 17% of the population, they accounted for only 13% of all international donors and 11% of top international donors. They provided 6% of the total dollar value of all donations and 7% of the total dollar value of donations to international causes. In contrast, 45 to 54 year-olds were more likely than other age groups to give to international causes. They made up 18% of the population and 19% of all donors, but 20% of all international donors and 22% of top donors. Seniors aged 65 and older provide 20% of the total value of international donations but only comprise 15% of the population. Sex. Women are more likely than men to be international donors and top international donors and to play an important role in international donations. Women comprise 61% of the top 25% of international donors that provide 83% of all donations. Although small in number (61% of 25% or 15% of all international donors), they provide 49% of all international donations. Marital Status. Married Canadians were more likely than others to be top international donors and accounted for most of the value of total donations. Married individuals made up 62% of the population and 66% of all donors, but 74% of top international donors. Married top international donors comprise 51% of all international donors but accounted for 65% of all international donations. Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 7

17 Table 1.6: Percentage of Population & Total Donation Value by Donor Status and Demographic Characteristics, 2000 Canada % % Regular Donors % total $ International Donors % % total $ Top International Donors % % total $ 4 Age Group % 14% 6% 13% 7% 11% 5% % 17% 15% 18% 15% 15% 13% % 24% 22% 20% 21% 23% 18% % 19% 25% 20% 21% 22% 17% % 12% 14% 13% 16% 13% 13% % 15% 17% 16% 20% 16% 17% Sex Male 49% 47% 47% 43% 43% 39% 34% Female 51% 53% 53% 57% 57% 61% 49% Marital Status Married 62% 66% 72% 69% 76% 74% 65% Single, never married 26% 22% 15% 21% 10% 14% 7% Widowed 5% 5% 7% 5% 6% 5% 5% Separated or divorced 7% 6% 7% 5% 8% 7% 7% Education Less than High School 27% 23% 14% 13% 8% 8% 7% High School graduate 20% 20% 16% 19% 10% 10% 6% Some Post-Secondary 9% 9% 8% 11% 12% 16% 11% Post-Secondary diploma 28% 30% 29% 31% 38% 36% 33% University degree 17% 18% 33% 27% 32% 30% 26% Employment Status Employed 63% 66% 69% 66% 65% 70% 55% Full-time 50% 54% 57% 49% 49% 53% 41% Part-time 12% 12% 13% 17% 16% 17% 13% Unemployed 4% 3% 2% 3% 3% 3% 2% Not in the labour force 33% 31% 29% 31% 32% 28% 26% Religious Affiliation No Affiliation 24% 22% 12% 19% 10% 9% 7% Affiliation 69% 73% 83% 75% 85% 86% 73% Neither 7% 5% 5% 6% 5% 4% 4% Religious Attendance Weekly 17% 20% 45% 32% 52% 46% 46% Non-Weekly 76% 76% 51% 64% 44% 50% 34% Neither 6% 4% 4% 5% 4% 4% 3% Religiosity Very Religious 11% 12% 27% 19% 32% 29% 29% Not Very Religious 82% 83% 68% 75% 62% 66% 50% Neither 7% 5% 5% 6% 5% 5% 4% Household Income < $20,000 13% 11% 6% 7% 7% 3% 5% $20,000 - $39,999 26% 25% 18% 20% 16% 18% 13% $40,000 - $59,999 23% 23% 19% 25% 20% 20% 15% $60,000 - $99,999 25% 27% 29% 29% 25% 26% 21% >= $100,000 12% 13% 27% 19% 32% 34% 29% 4 Column gives percentage of the total amount donated to international organizations by top international donors in each demographic group (i.e., each group sums to 83% due to the fact that 83% of the total value of international donations was donated by top international donors). Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 8

18 Education. As with charitable giving in general, giving to international causes tends to increase with education. For example, although those with a university degree only comprise 17% of the population, they make up 27% of all international donors and 30% of the top international donor group. The 30% of top international donors with university educations (or 7.5% of all international donors) provide 26% of all international donations. Religious Factors. Religious factors are perhaps the most significant in distinguishing top international donors from other donors. A higher percentage of top international donors claimed a religious affiliation (86% vs. 75% of regular donors and 69% of the population as a whole), attended religious services weekly (46% vs. 20% of regular donors and 17% of the population) and considered themselves to be very religious (29% vs. 12% of regular donors and 11% of the population). Almost half (46%) of the top international donor group is comprised of people who attend religious services weekly. This group accounts for only 11.5% of all international donors (46% of 25%) yet contributes almost half (46%) of the total dollar value of all international donations. Household Income. Canadians with household incomes of $100,000 or greater made up 12% of the population, but 34% of top international donors. This high income top donor group accounts for 9% of all international donors yet accounts for 32% of the value of all international donations. Planning Ahead vs. Giving Spontaneously Previous NSGVP analysis has demonstrated that donors who decide in advance how much to give and which organizations they will support and who give regularly to the same organizations donate more, on average, than other donors (Hall, et.al. 2001; Greenberg, 2000). This may help to explain why the average donation to international organizations is so large. Table 1.7 shows that international donors were more likely than regular donors to decide in advance how much they would donate (23% vs. 18%) and which organizations they would support (35% vs. 25%). This trend was even more pronounced among top international donors, who were more than twice as likely (37% vs. 18%) as regular donors to decide in advance how much they would give. Top international donors were also almost twice as likely as regular donors (46% vs. 25%) to identify in advance the organizations they would support, and more than twice as likely to give regularly to the same organizations (83% vs. 41%). Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 9

19 Table 1.7: Planning Ahead vs. Giving Spontaneously by Donor Status, 2000 Donor Behaviour % of Regular Donors % of International Donors % of Top International Donors Decide in advance the amount of money to donate 18% 23% 37% Decide in advance which organizations to donate to 25% 34% 46% Decide in advance which organizations to donate to and respond to requests for donations 14% 17% 21% Donate to the same charities on a regular basis 41% 55% 83% Motivations for Donating The motivations of international and top international donors are somewhat different from those of regular donors. Table 1.8 shows that international and top international donors were far more likely to cite religious obligations or beliefs as a motivation for donating (43% and 60% respectively) than were regular donors (31%). This is not surprising, since, as was noted earlier, international and top international donors appear to be more religious than regular donors. International and top international donors were also more likely than regular donors to agree that they gave out of a sense of owing something to their communities, and to get government tax credits. Feelings of compassion towards people in need and the desire to help a cause in which donors personally believed were cited slightly more frequently by international donors. Table 1.8: Motivations for Donating by Donor Status, 2000 Motivation for Donating Regular Donors % Agree International Donors % Agree Top International Donors % Agree Feel compassion towards people in need 94% 99% 97% Help cause in which personally believe 91% 94% 98% You/someone you know affected by cause 69% 68% 74% Feel you owe something to your community 58% 73% 75% Fulfill religious obligations or beliefs 31% 43% 60% Govt will give credit on income taxes 13% 17% 20% Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 10

20 Barriers to Donating The NSGVP asked donors whether any of a range of factors kept them from donating more money. Figure 1.2 shows the differences between the frequency with which international and top international donors cited any of these factors as barriers and the frequency that regular donors cited these barriers. As can be seen, with only minor exceptions, international donors and top international donors were less likely than regular donors to agree with any of these barriers. For example, compared to regular donors, 12% fewer international donors and 5% fewer top international donors agreed that it was hard to find a cause worth supporting and 5% fewer top international donors. Top international donors were slightly more likely to indicate that that they did not know where to donate. This suggests that international donors are more attune than regular donors to the existence of worthy causes, an impression that is strengthened by the finding that international donors were far more likely to plan aspects of their giving in advance. Figure 1.2: Differences in Perceptions of Barriers to Donating: International Donors and Top International Donors, % -5% Hard to find a cause worth supporting -8% -1% Give voluntary time instead -13% -5% Give money directly to people, not through an organization -10% -1% Think the money will not be used efficiently -5% -3% -2% Do not like the way in which requests are made Would prefer to spend money in other ways 3% -6% Want to save money for future needs 0% International Donors -16% -12% -8% -4% 0% 4% Top International Donors Methods of Donating International organizations rely much more on fundraising via requests than do other types of organizations. Mail requests accounted for 44% of the total value of donations and 37% of the total number of donations to international organizations, compared to only 12% of the total value Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 11

21 and 15% of the total number of donations to non-international organizations (Table 1.9). 5 In addition, the average mail request donation to an international organization was almost three times the average for non-international donations ($157 vs. $59). Donations through places of worship accounted for the second largest percentage of the total value of donations to international organizations (17%), underscoring the importance of religious factors in international giving. Ten percent of the total number of international donations were made through places of worship. In comparison, donations through places of worship accounted for 49% of the total value and 11% of the total number of donations to non-international organizations. However, the bulk of these donations go to religious organizations. When these are factored out, donations through places of worship account for only 2% of the value and 1% of the number of non-religious, non-international donations. International organizations are also more likely than non-international organizations to receive donations from donors who approach the organizations on their own and to receive donations in response to a radio or television appeal. These two approaches respectively account for 9% and 8% of the total value of international donations Some methods of donating did not play as large a role in international donations as they did in non-international donations. For example, sponsoring someone for an event accounted for a smaller percentage of international donations (2% of the total value and 6% of the total number of donations) than non-international donations (4% of the total value and 16% of the total number of donations). 5 It is important to note that this apparent low reliance of non-international organizations on mail-based fundraising is due to the fact that 49% of all non-international giving occurs through places of worship where the bulk of the donations is directed to religious organizations (including the place of worship itself). If one examines non-religious giving only, about one-quarter of the total value of donations to non-religious organizations occurs in response to mail requests. Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 12

22 Table 1.9: Number of Donations, Proportion of Total Value of Donations and Average Donation by Method of Donation and Organization Type, 2000 International Organizations % of Total No. of Donations % of Total Value of Donations Average Donation Non-International Organizations % of Total No. of Donations % of Total Value of Donations Average Donation Mail request 37% 44% $157 15% 12% $59 Place of worship 10% 17% $224 11% 49% $326 Approached organization on own 5% 9% $231 2% 4% $158 TV / Radio 6% 8% $179 2% 1% $41 Pay to attend charity event 4% 5% $137 8% 7% $69 Pay to sponsor events 6% 2% $39 16% 4% $20 Phone request 3% 2% $79 3% 1% $31 In memoriam 2% 2% $127 9% 6% $45 Payroll deduction 2% 1% $83 3% 5% $133 Asked by someone you know 2% 0% $28 5% 2% $29 Door-to-door canvassing 12% 1% $8 17% 3% $13 Shopping centre canvassing 5% 0% $10 7% 1% $8 Internet 1% 0% $78 0% 0% $44 Other 5% 8% $202 1% 3% $ vs. 2000: What has Changed? Although the percentage of Canadians who donated to either international or non-international organizations did not change from 1997 to 2000, the amount donated increased. Moreover, the size of the increase in international donations was far greater than the size of the increase for donations in general. The total amount of donations to international organizations increased by 45% (38% controlling for inflation) from $114 million in 1997 to $167 million in In comparison, total donations overall increased by only 11%. The size of the average donation made to international organizations increased by 37% (30% controlling for inflation) from $101 in 1997 to $138 while the average donation to all charities increased by just eight percent. While there were few changes in the social and economic characteristics of international and top international donors from 1997 to 2000, there were some notable changes in their giving behaviours, intentions and attitudes (Figure 1.3). In 2000, a greater proportion of top international donors planned their giving by deciding in advance how much they would donate (37% in 2000, up from 32% in 1997); and which organizations they would support (46% in 2000, up from 37% in 1997). They were also more likely in 2000 to report donating regularly to certain organizations (83% in 2000, up from 76% in 1997). Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 13

23 Figure 1.3: Planning Ahead vs. Giving Spontaneously by Donor Status, 1997 and 2000 Decide in advance amount of money to donate? Regular donors 16% 18% Top international donors 32% 37% Decide in advance which organizations to donate to? Regular donors 20% 25% Top international donors 37% 46% Donate to certain organizations on a regular basis? Regular donors 44% 41% Top international donors 76% 83% 10% 30% 50% 70% 90% Figure 1.4: Income Tax Credit as a Reason for Making a Donation by Donor Status, 1997 and % 20% 17% 20% 19% 15% 10% 13% 11% 11% 5% 0% All Donors International Donors Top International Donors The importance of income tax credits as a reason for making donations appears to have increased, particularly among international donors. Seventeen percent of international donors cited tax credits as a motivation for donating, compared with just 11% in 1997 (see Figure 1.4). Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 14

24 Figure 1.5: Reasons For Not Donating More by Donor Status, 1997 and % 40% 49% 45% 47% 42% 35% 36% 46% 40% 20% 0% Top International Donors Regular Donors Do not like the way requests are made Top International Donors Regular Donors Do not think money will be used efficiently While some reasons for not donating more (Figure 1.5) appear to have increased in importance among regular donors, this does not appear to be the case for top international donors. The percentage of regular donors who indicated that they did not donate more because they thought the money would not be used efficiently increased from 40% in 1997 to 46% in However, there was little change among top international donors (35% in 1997 vs. 36% in 2000). The percentage of regular donors who indicated that they did not donate more because they did not like the way that requests were made increased from 42% in 1997 to 47% in 2000, while the percentage of top international donors saying this decreased over the same period (49% in 1997 vs. 45% in 2000). International donors made a much larger percentage of their donations via mail requests (31% of the number of donations in 1997 vs. 37% in 2000), though this does not seem to have been reflected in the amount donated (43% of total value of donations in 1997 vs. 44% in 2000). The role of individual donors who approached organizations on their own decreased between 1997 and 2000 (6% of the total number of donations and 16% of the total value of donations in 1997 vs. 5% of the total number of donations and 9% of the total value of donations in 2000). Summary Our analysis shows that relative to their support of other charitable causes, Canadians provide only modest amounts of support to international development and relief organizations. Although 78% of Canadians (aged 15 and older) donate to charity, only 5% donate to international organizations and international organizations receive about 3.5% of the total value of all donations. In addition, the bulk of these donations comes from the top 25% of international donors (about 300,000 Canadians) who provide about 83% of the total dollar value all donations. Nevertheless, there appears to have been substantial growth in the amount of donations provided to international organizations between 1997 and 2000, which far surpassed the overall growth in charitable donations. Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 15

25 International organizations appear to attract super donors. Donors to international organizations tend to support many causes and give larger donations than other donors to both international organizations and the many other causes they support. Compared to other donors, these donors tend to respond through mail solicitation, places of worship, television and radio appeals, and donors approaching organizations on their own. They are more likely than other donors to plan their donations in advance and to donate regularly to the same organizations. They are also less likely to identify any barriers that prevent them from giving. The international donor is more likely than other donors to be religiously active, older, better educated, to have higher household incomes, to be female and married. They are more likely to cite religious motivations for donating and to report giving because they feel that they owe something to their community. International donors, are, however, also more likely than other donors to report that the tax credits they receive for their donations play a role in their decision making about giving, which is not particularly surprising in light of the size of their donations. In short, charitable giving to international development and relief organizations, although modest, appears to be growing. In addition, these organizations appear to have attracted the contributions of a set of donors that have a number of appealing characteristics from a fundraising perspective. They appear to be highly motivated, in part, for religious reasons, and to be willing and able to make relatively large donations in support of the causes in which they believe. Moreover, they are likely to be loyal supporters of the causes they have chosen to support. Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 16

26 Part 2: An Analysis of International Charities Canada s registered international charities play a significant role in providing development assistance such as health services and education to countries around the world. In 1997, 1,769 Canadian charities (about 2.5% of all registered charities) were involved in international development and relief activities. 6 Altogether, Canada s international charities accounted for about $1.9 billion in annual revenues and incurred approximately $1.8 billion in annual expenditures. The bulk of this money is accounted for by a small number of charities with total annual revenues of $10 million or more. These made up less than 2% of international charities, but accounted for 69% of total revenues. This part of the report explores the financial resources available to Canadian international charities to carry out international development and relief activities around the world. It also examines the nature of revenues and expenditures, as well as program areas and regions in which these charities are active. It uses Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) T3010 Registered Charity Information Return Forms for 1997 to examine the following aspects of Canadian charities that are engaged in international development and relief activities: the distribution of these international charities by program area and by the geographic area in which they operate; the sources and amounts of revenues reported by these charities, including business and fundraising activities; and, the types and amount of expenditures reported by these charities, including their use of paid staff. Analysis Strategy The 1997 T3010 database maintained by CCRA contains information on approximately 70,000 registered charities in Canada. The T3010 form (see Appendix C) asks charities to identify their four most important activity fields and to indicate the approximate percentage of resources they devote to each field. A checklist of activity fields, including a range of international fields, is provided on the form. We included in our analysis all organizations that reported involvement in one or more of these international activity areas. These account for only a small minority of Canadian registered charities (2.5%). 6 International development and relief charities are defined as any charitable foundation or organization that is involved in one or more of the following fields outside Canada: social services, infrastructure development, agricultural programs, medical services, literacy/education/training programs, and disaster/war relief. Canadian Centre for Philanthropy 17