The federal government announced on December 30, 2024 that it would extend the deadline for making donations eligible for tax deduction in the 2024 tax year to February 28, 2025. This measure was introduced in an effort to mitigate the impact of the four-week postal strike, which happened during the most critical time of the year for charities across the country: the holiday season. The tax deadline extension has, hopefully, extended the usual season of giving so that donors won't 'sit out' supporting their favourite causes. While tax considerations are one factor that affect giving, we were curious to engage with Canadians and explore their motivations for donating.

In this post, through the results of a poll conducted with the support of BMO, we continue our annual practice of exploring holiday season giving intentions. In addition, for the first time, we looked at charity ranking lists and whether these impact donations and decision-making around which organizations to support. Finally, we probed Canadians’ levels of trust in various sectors as it relates to issues facing our country.

Giving intentions

Our most recent public poll was conducted just as giving season started in November. For the past few years, we have conducted a poll at this time of the year to probe Canadians on their giving intentions. Our November 2024 poll found that Canadians intended to be more generous, with 65% saying they were planning to donate during the most recent holiday season – a notable increase from 49% in 2023. 

Not only were more Canadians planning to donate, but they were also planning on giving more. The average amount of intended charity giving during the 2024 holiday season is $118 – up from $100 in 2023. In a year of financial challenges for many, this increase highlights the generosity of Canadians. And now, with the 2024 donation extension, individuals who may not have had the opportunity to donate during the holiday season can still do so and claim their gifts on their 2024 tax filing.

Charity ranking lists

We know that for many, receiving a tax receipt is a factor when deciding to donate to charities. What other factors may influence a person’s decision to donate, and to which organization(s)? In this poll, we probed Canadians about a controversial topic within our sector: charity ranking lists. We were looking to gain insight into whether people knew about these rankings, and if they impacted their decision-making when it comes to choosing a charity to support. 

The results from the poll show that the majority of Canadians (64%) were not aware of charity ranking lists that are publicly available, while 18% said they were unsure. 

Interestingly, among those (18%) who said they were familiar with these lists, 30% belong to Gen Z (27 years old or younger), 15% Millennials and Gen X, 9% Boomers, and 17% older generations.

Given the low awareness of these ranking or rating lists, few claim these would or do impact their giving decisions – but it is more a force for positive than negative as very few – even among those familiar with the rankings – say they are less likely to support a low-ranking organization.

Among those who are familiar with the charity rankings, 54% said they were more likely to donate to charities that rank high on these lists, and 34% said these lists don’t influence their decision to donate to an organization. Only 11% responded that they were less likely to donate to charities that rank low on these lists. To put this in a broader perspective, this number of people corresponds to only 2% of all respondents. 

The overall impact on donations is extremely marginal. 

Trust 

Another poll, another question about trust! This time around, we were interested in probing Canadians on the sector they trust the most to deal with some of the most pressing issues facing Canada. We asked this question in a poll last year as well and were able to compare year-over-year by sector:

• 82% of respondents said they trust the charitable and nonprofit sector, up from 79% in 2023. 
• Trust in the nonprofits and charities is consistent across Canada in all regions. It’s highest in the Atlantic provinces with 89%, and lowest in the Prairies with 79%.
• Trust in government dipped from 59% in 2023 to 48% in 2024, while trust in the corporate sector remained stable at 51% vs 50% in 2023. For the first time in 2024, we also specifically included the small business sector - 87% of respondents said they trust this sector. 

Special thanks to BMO for supporting this project.

Survey methodology

The survey was conducted with 1,503 Canadian adults from November 12 to 18, 2024. A sample of this size has a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points. The sample was designed to replicate the Canadian population. Sample quotas for region and demographic characteristics were monitored to ensure that the sample matched the population at large.