Charitable donations dropped 5.3% in 2008: StatsCan

The Canadian Press

Reported charitable donations surpassed $8.1 billion in 2008, down 5.3% from 2007. But Statistics Canada says, based on tax returns, the number of donors increased 1.7% to just under 5.8 million.


The agency says the median donation was $250 in 2008, meaning half of the donors gave more and half less -- unchanged from 2007.


Donors in Nunavut reported a median donation of $500, tops in the nation for the ninth straight year.

Donors in Prince Edward Island had the second highest median at $370, followed by those in Alberta with $360.

Donors in Abbotsford-Mission, B.C., had by far the highest median donation among cities at $600, the sixth straight year they have led the way.

Kelowna, B.C., followed with a median of $380, slightly ahead of Calgary with $360.