TORONTO, Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CanadaHelps, the country's largest platform for donating and fundraising online, has marked a new milestone, reaching $3 billion raised since its founding in 2000. This includes more than $400 million raised on its online giving platform in 2023. Of the funds raised in 2023, more than $180 million was over the holiday giving season (November and December).
“As a fully self-funded charity, CanadaHelps has pulled off what many for-profit start-ups could only dream of — a sustainable business with broad reach, and incredible impact,” said Duke Chang, President and Chief Executive Officer of CanadaHelps. “This milestone is a true testament of our decades-long investment to make online giving seamless and connect Canadians with their favourite charities. It also highlights the critical role charities across Canada and around the world play in our communities. It’s incredible to see how Canadians continue to prioritize generosity, even when times are financially tough due to the high cost of living, so we can support charities that are facing enormous strain from rising demand, economic pressures, and changing donation trends.”
This milestone has been achieved while demand for charitable services remains high and charities navigate challenges when it comes to digital technologies. Ipsos polling data from fall 2023 highlighted that 24 percent of Canadians expected to access charitable services in the following six months, while a separate survey among charities highlights how insufficient funding is the reason why most charities (62 percent) have not invested in digital technologies to implement in their organizations.
“More than 30,000 charities rely on CanadaHelps for accessible and affordable fundraising technology to raise critical funds for their cause,” said Chang. “As CanadaHelps looks ahead to celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025, our team is ushering in a new era of online fundraising to broaden our charity tools through a bold vision for the future, while keeping innovation front and centre so we can close the digital gap charities are currently facing.”
Key CanadaHelps Milestones
- 2024 – CanadaHelps exceeds $3 billion raised in donations supporting Canadian charities.
- 2022 – CanadaHelps launches the Charity Growth Academy in partnership with Mastercard Changeworks™ to help close the digital skills gap within the charitable sector. Charity Growth Academy provides charities with free resources to advance their digital skills and transformation process, allowing them to advance their mission within the ever-changing digital landscape.
- 2022 – CanadaHelps reaches 4 million donors using its online giving platform.
- 2021 – CanadaHelps launches UniteforChange.com featuring Cause Funds, a new and innovative way to give. Targeted toward young donors, Cause Funds enable Canadians to donate to a single fund that will disperse each donation to numerous CRA-registered Canadian charities, all working toward the same cause. Unite for Change is dedicated to empowering Canadians to make meaningful change toward the world’s most pressing causes.
- 2015 – CanadaHelps reaches 1 million donors using its online giving platform.
- 2013 – CanadaHelps co-founds GivingTuesday Canada, a movement dedicated to giving and generosity.
- 2013 – CanadaHelps launches its Crisis Relief Centre to raise funds to support natural disasters and humanitarian crises.
- 2012 – CanadaHelps launches an API (application programming interface) to enable corporate giving.
- 2000 – CanadaHelps is founded. In its first year, more than $150,000 is donated through CanadaHelps to charities across the country.
“More than two decades ago, CanadaHelps was founded by three forward-thinking university students who dreamed of a world where it is easy to give to charities online, and charities had access to the same technology used by for-profit businesses,” said Chang. “As a leader in Canada’s charitable sector, CanadaHelps facilitates nearly half a billion dollars in donations each year from close to one million Canadians. At every step of the way, our mission to easily connect charities with Canadians has never wavered and we look forward to reaching new milestones in the years to come.”
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 4.6 million people have given more than $3 billion through CanadaHelps. Connect with CanadaHelps on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
###
