Toronto, Nov. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CanadaHelps, Canada’s largest online donation and fundraising platform and co-founders of GivingTuesday in Canada, spokespersons are available for media interviews to discuss this annual day of giving in Canada and its importance this year as the heightened cost of living drives significant demand for charitable services. Two in 10 (20%) Canadians are currently using charitable services to meet their essential needs (e.g., food, shelter, health services, etc.), and almost a quarter (24%) of Canadians say they will turn to charitable services to meet essential needs within the next six months.
GivingTuesday, which takes place on November 28th this year, is the world’s largest generosity movement, celebrating and encouraging all forms of giving, including donating, volunteering, performing acts of kindness, and more. On GivingTuesday in 2022, more than $13 million was donated on CanadaHelps to more than 9,100 registered charities. To help charities close the gap between demand and resources available, CanadaHelps is aiming to surpass last year’s total raised million on GivingTuesday to support charities across the country — if reached, this would surpass CanadaHelps’ previous GivingTuesday fundraising record.
Spokespersons from CanadaHelps are available to speak on the following topics:
- Ways Canadians Can Participate In GivingTuesday
There are many financial and nonfinancial ways Canadians can participate in GivingTuesday which includes donating, volunteering, fundraising, setting up a monthly donation, donating securities, giving a Charity Gift Card, performing an act of kindness, and more.
- More Canadians Are Expected To Turn To Charities For Essential Services, While Charities Are Struggling To Meet Rising Demand
Two in 10 (20%) Canadians are currently using charitable services to meet their essential needs (e.g., food, shelter, and clothing, etc.). Among them, seven in 10 (69%) Canadians say this is the first year they have needed to access charitable services. More than half (54%) of those accessing charitable services say this is because of the rising cost of living. One quarter (24%) of Canadians expect they will need to access charitable services to meet their essential needs, such as food, clothing, or shelter, in the next six months. The future anticipated need remains high among Canadians under the age of 35 (42%), compared to those aged 35-54 (28%) or 55 and over (8%).
According to The Giving Report 2023, more than 30% of charities are reporting revenue below pre-pandemic levels and 57% of charities are reporting that they are unable to meet current levels of demand. GivingTuesday is one of the most important days of the year for charities to reach their fundraising goals to try and close the gap between the resources charities have and the demand they are facing.
- Giving Trends and Top Causes Canadians are Supporting
When asked to choose the top five causes that they are prioritizing when giving financially this year, almost half (46%) of Canadians said they are supporting a physical health cause (e.g., cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease.etc.) followed by mental health (35%) and food-insecurity (35%). Other popular causes include homelessness (30%), animals (26%), crisis relief (22%), education (20%), climate change (17%) and religious causes (14%). Spokespersons can also discuss giving trends, and how Canadians are giving differently.
- How Charities Are Making An Impact
While 78 percent of charities make less than $500,000 in revenue, and 58 percent of charities are fully volunteer-run, charities are offering support to communities in need, while also advancing and touching the lives of all Canadians.
- Renowned Personal Finance Expert Pattie Lovett-Reid Provides Personal Finance Strategies to Help Canadians Maximize Charitable Impact
This month, Reid joined CanadaHelps as a Brand Ambassador to help Canadians make an impact by leveraging creative giving strategies to maximize their impact. Reid is providing financial giving tips and advice tailored to the unique challenges Canadians face today in terms of inflation and fears of recession.
- Ways to Get Kids Involved in Giving
A recent Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of CanadaHelps found that 71% of parents with children in the household discuss the importance of giving and how to support their favourite charitable causes. Spokespersons are available to speak to GivingTuesday Canada’s new campaign called “It’s Cool To Be Kind” which is calling on parents, teachers, and other adults to discuss with the children in their life about the causes they care about and how they can help. - GivingTuesday’s History and Impact, from Past to Present
Founded in New York City in 2012 and brought to Canada in 2013 by CanadaHelps, GIV3, and several other partners, an estimated six million Canadians have since participated in the global movement which is celebrated in more than 90 countries around the world. This year, the day is particularly significant as Canadians are relying on charities for essential services such as food and shelter in record numbers.
Resources:
- Media resources including b-roll, Ipsos polling data, images, spokesperson bio’s, and recent press releases are available for download in this online media kit. These resources may be helpful for media looking for additional insights, or for those who are unable to conduct an interview, but would still like to cover GivingTuesday.
- Phone, Zoom, or Facetime interviews can be booked with CanadaHelps. Interviews can be conducted in-person in Toronto.
- CanadaHelps can arrange interviews with local or national registered Canadian charities to speak about their impact, challenges, and how Canadians can support them on GivingTuesday.
About CanadaHelps:
CanadaHelps is a public foundation advancing philanthropy through technology. For Canadians, it powers CanadaHelps.org, a safe and trusted destination for discovering and supporting any charity in Canada, and UniteforChange.com, where Canadians can learn about causes and easily support the collective work of charities addressing a cause they care about. CanadaHelps also develops affordable fundraising technology used by more than 30,000 charities, and free training and education so that, regardless of size, all charities have the capacity to increase their impact and succeed in the digital age. Since 2000, more than 4.5 million people have given more than $2.8 billion through CanadaHelps. Connect with CanadaHelps on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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Media Contact:
Christine Alfred
Public Relations and Marketing Specialist
media@canadahelps.org
