“Fewer Canadians are giving to charity. A majority of their donations are coming from fewer and older people. There is a 10-year runway before giving in Canada could plunge off a cliff.”

A blog inspired by John Longhurst’s article on charitable giving in Canadian Affairs, March 31, 2025.

Do the church finances of a randomly selected church match Canadian trends?

Half of donors give more than $310 and half give less. $310 is the typical amount. I’m glad that StatsCan uses median here, because average gift would be skewed by a small number of really large gifts.

When I quote these figures in churches, I get questions like - people give $310 to their church or to all charities put together? This is the "altogether” total. Donors who give more in a month than most Canadians give in a year are bewildered: isn’t everyone as generous as they are? In a word, no.