Downturn in Calgary's economy translates into drop in charitable donations

Calgarians were less charitable in 2016 compared with the year before, according to numbers released Wednesday by Statistics Canada — more than $105 million  less charitable, to be exact.

That marks a 15.1 per cent drop from 2015 to 2016, one of the largest reductions in the country.

In Edmonton, there was a 7.4 per cent reduction in charitable giving in 2016 compared with the year before.

The biggest reduction in donations in Calgary was among those in the 55-plus age category, which is likely the result of the downturn in the economy, says Luanne Whitmarsh, CEO of the Kerby Centre, a non-profit organization that assists seniors. 

She points out that many in that cohort who lost their jobs in the downturn were executives.

And they aren't as likely to get those jobs back as the economy recovers.

"They're not making more money or having different income," she told CBC News. "They're now living on their investments and having to spread it more thinly due to an unplanned event like losing your job."

Alberta sees biggest decline

Looking at provinces as a whole, Alberta saw a 10.7 per cent reduction in charitable donations, which was also the biggest drop in the country.

In Prince Edward Island, donations fell by 5.3 per cent, and in Saskatchewan they dropped by 4.1 per cent.

Charitable giving went up in some jurisdictions, however, like Yukon, where it rose by 4.5 per cent, and New Brunswick, where it went up by 2.2 per cent.

And the fact donations were down over that time period doesn't mean Albertans weren't still generous as the median individual donation in 2016 was $450 for Calgarians, $420 for Edmontonians and $620 for those living in Lethbridge, making the southern Alberta city the second highest in Canada behind Abbotsford and Mission at $760.

Bryan de Lottinville, the founder and CEO of Benevity — which provides software to major corporations to help companies and their employees give to charity — says as the local economy has recovered, so have donations.

"It appears to have unequivocally been reversed this year," he said, speaking about donation trends for 2017, based on what his company is seeing.

Changes in charitable giving between 2015 and 2016 by province and territory:

B.C.  2.1%
Alberta  -10.7%
Saskatchewan  -4.1%
Manitoba  -3.6%
Ontario  -2%
Quebec  0.8%
New Brunswick  2.2%
Nova Scotia  1.4%
P.E.I. -5.3%
Newfoundland and Labrador  -3.4%
N.W.T.  -1.4%
Yukon  4.5%

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