P.E.I. charities concerned by survey showing fewer people giving money and time

A new survey confirms what some P.E.I. charitable organizations have been seeing on their bottom lines: Financial donations and volunteer hours are down over the last decade, by nearly a quarter.

The survey from Narrative Research showed that 63 per cent of Atlantic Canadians gave money to a charity last year, compared to 83 per cent in 2011. That's down 20 percentage points, or 24 per cent.

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Volunteer hours in Atlantic Canada are also down, according to the survey results. About 32 per cent of Atlantic Canadians donated their time in 2022, compared to 54 per cent in 2011.

"Unfortunately, it's not really surprising. We've been seeing that trend happen for a while," said Andrea MacDonald, CEO of United Way of P.E.I.

"There's a lot of folks who might have given in the past, and aren't able to now," MacDonald said.

"There's lots of reasons in terms of inflation, cost of living, the housing market. So it can be a challenging time to give, and some of those folks actually are using services who might not have used [them] before."

Small donations matter 

MacDonald said it's challenging to make up for the drop in donations.

"There's a smaller amount of people, who tend to actually be giving more. So we do ask anybody who's in the position to be able to give, really to consider stepping up," she said.

"The other thing is people who might not be able to give a lot. We don't want to discourage that small donation."

That return back to volunteerism has been a little bit challenging​​​​​.— Andrea MacDonald, United Way of P.E.I.

MacDonald said it's also not surprising that the volunteer hours are down.

"Throughout COVID, the way people volunteered changed, or they maybe weren't comfortable being out in the community, which is understandable," she said.

"So that return back to volunteerism has been a little bit challenging."

Generational differences

The survey broke down the results by generation. It suggested 65 per cent of Baby Boomers continue making charitable donations, followed by Gen X (54 per cent), Gen Z (54 per cent), and Millennials (48 per cent).

MacDonald said it's not unexpected the older generation is able to give more, at a time of life when many are making higher salaries and have paid off mortgages. 

"I don't want folks to think the younger generations aren't wanting to be involved and give back... They often do with their time, or being engaged in a lot of different ways," she said.

"So if we keep people engaged, when they have means, I believe fully that they will support organizations that are meaningful to them."

'Really challenging'

At Blooming House Women's Shelter, co-founder Liz Corney has taken on a new role as director of development, to focus on fundraising. 

She said the community rallied to support the organization as a new charity, but now, almost five years later, raising money has become harder. 

"It has been really challenging over the last couple of years, because I think it's been challenging for people in general," Corney said. 

"Groceries cost a lot of money, gas costs a lot of money. Everything is is kind of skyrocketing in that way. So it's hard to think about reaching outside of your own household, outside of yourself to give."

Later this month, Blooming House is set to host its first ever in-person fundraising event, called Ride for Refuge.

"We've really been trying to find creative ways of people still feeling like they're a part of our community, without necessarily giving the finances," Corney said. 

"But that's a really tough thing, too, because we do need financial support to continue operating."

Bucking the trend

At the Upper Room Hospitality Ministry, executive director Mike MacDonald said his organization is bucking the trend, and donations and volunteer numbers have remained stable, even through the COVID years.

"I really think people understand the work that we're doing, and how important it is, and really, how anybody could have to turn to a food bank, or soup kitchen, at any time," he said.

"We're always looking at dollars coming in and dollars going out, and making sure that we're using our donations to the best use," MacDonald said.

"We do know that we have to be careful because that could change easily. And we do know that a number of people are struggling, and some donations may dry up."