This year brought a whirlwind of events that impacted the lives of Canadians and people around the world. From the war in Ukraine that started in February 2022, to climate disasters that led to unprecedented global hunger and famine in the Horn of Africa and other parts of the world, torrential flooding in Pakistan, and Hurricane Fiona in Eastern Canada, there was no shortage of crises and causes to support.
In total, Canadians gave $438,828,033 through CanadaHelps. Here’s how your generous contributions made an impact in 2022.
Canadians gave more in 2022
With the slow transition out of the second year of the global pandemic in 2021 and the ever-changing landscape brought by 2022, total donations grew by 4% this year.
Growth in donations, may not mean growth for all Charities
Through our work with charities in 2022, we reported early on about their struggle to meet the demand of users which increased, while at the same time, donations decreased. We can see the effects of this with fewer charities receiving donations this year compared to last year.
Although there were many contributing factors, the delicate balancing act between providing in-demand charity services, accounting for rising costs for donors and charities, and launching fundraising calls to the community at the same time all played a key role in this decrease.
All this considered, and despite the challenges we faced, Canadians showed up to support initiatives that aim to make the world a more equitable place for all!
Including giving in your financial strategy is on the rise
One-time donations are the most common way to donate but year-after-year Canadians have been diversifying how they engage in charitable giving through monthly donations, fundraising for a charity close to their heart or donating strategically by giving securities or cryptocurrency.
Monthly gifts increased by 12% in 2022 and 13% more Canadians signed up for monthly giving this past year. The financial planning benefits of monthly gifts for both individuals and charities make this a great way to give.
Securities donations followed by our newly launched ability to accept cryptocurrency were other key ways Canadians donated in 2022.
Personal fundraisers launched through CanadaHelps continued to be a favourite for individuals wanting to engage their social and physical communities in causes they care about.
A big year for Cause Funds on Unite For Change!
In 2021, CanadaHelps introduced an innovative way for Canadians who are passionate about specific issues, to donate to a fund that splits donations among multiple charities working towards a specific issue. These Cause Funds are listed on Unite for Change, a website powered by CanadaHelps.
In 2022, Canadians donated $700,331 to Cause Funds with 5 newly launched funds. We can’t wait to see the development of new Cause Funds that support causes Canadians are passionate about in 2023.
Small to medium-sized charities need support
2022 brought slightly more normalcy to our day-to-day with fewer lockdowns and many charities returning to the office or more in-person events.
This was evident in the fact that charities raised 75% more this year from events compared to last year. In fact, 4% more charities registered with CanadaHelps to use our affordable and accessible fundraising tools this year, with 997 new charity registrations.
Despite overall growth in the number of donations this year, many small to medium charities especially struggled this year, leading us to run our first-ever Small Charities Week in September 2022.
Throughout the week we provided a series of free webinars and resources for small charities to learn about ways they can optimize their digital fundraising post-pandemic, including a Small Charities Master Class where 1,329 small charities gathered to learn top strategies to help them thrive.
In 2023, we’ll continue to push ourselves to create easy-to-implement tools and educational resources for charities so charities of all sizes can continue to do important work in our communities!
2022’s Top 5 categories for giving in Canada
The most supported charities in 2022 work to provide or improve social services, like housing and food banks, nearly 24% percent of all donations. International charities, like those providing humanitarian assistance to the war in Ukraine, saw a 58% increase in donations in 2022 over the previous year.
It’s not surprising considering the urgent call for aid in February 2022 when the war on Ukraine was waged and subsequent international crises, in addition to the Government of Canada matching donations to support the hunger crisis and Pakistan flooding in July.
Religious charities were the third most donated to, including churches and church-run programs that feed and house people in need. Followed by, public benefit charities with a 12% increase in donations this year towards charity services like grantmaking and volunteer programs. Health charities rounded out the top 5 most donated to, with a 2% increase in donations compared to 2021 to support the research, treatment, and care of illnesses in Canada.
Thank you for a great 2022!
As we enter 2023, what will remain is CanadaHelps’ unwavering commitment to supporting Canadian charities, big and small. With your help, we’ll help ensure charities can continue their missions even through these challenging times of inflation, increases in operation costs, and increasing demand to help the 2 in 10 Canadians who say they’ll use charitable services to meet essential needs in the next 4 months.
To the 962,632 Canadians who choose to support charities with CanadaHelps, we are continually grateful, inspired, and excited to see how we can break down more barriers for charities in the next year!
Which of these numbers did you find most surprising?
Share with us and click below to view the entire CanadaHelps 2022 Year in Review infographic.
*This year’s infographic was populated using new data criteria. As a result, you may see slight variances in year-over-year metrics compared to infographics from previous years.
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