Discussions

So, I have to ask, what's going on in our society that we are far better off then our ancestors, and yet on average barely give anything to charity?  
 
Consider the following:  
 
1) We're living longer then we ever have before.  
2) We're far wealthier on average then we ever have been before.  
3) We live in one of the wealthiest, safest and best countries in the world. So wealthy that our average incomes are around 100 times that of the average incomes in the world's poorest countries.  
4) Far more families have dual incomes then ever before.  
5) We live in a country with a very low unemployment rate where educational attainment is generally very high and social programs tend to be fairly good.  
6) We live in a country with universal mostly free healthcare.  
7) Families generally have a lot less financial obligations then ever before, such as fewer elderly parents living with their adult children, and families have far less kids then we ever did in the past.  
8) The vast majority of charitable donations are tax deductible.  
 
So, how is it then that the stats suggest that on average only 20.5 percent of income tax filers in our country gave to charity, for an average donation of $300. That's around .5 percent of our average median income in Canada. Here are the stats:  
 
https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/household-finances/article-to-be-charitable-canadians-are-not-very-generous/  
 
The Old Testament Bible had the Jewish people contribute 10 percent of their incomes to charity, and that was at a time when people lived far shorter lives, had things much much harder then they do now, and at a time when people lived off barely nothing in terms of material wealth, and technological innovation was minimal in comparison to what we have today.  
 
So, what's going on with people, have the vast majority of us seriously just become incredibly ungenerous and uncaring?  
 
I also have to ask from a Christian perspective, who is going to make it to Heaven, if Jesus' own words are, "Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.", and "So whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me."  
 
Seriously Brandon, where are our hearts?

One cost of living still isn’t on par with most incomes, especially if an emergency comes up. ( illness, house hold issues)  
Two most charities can’t discriminate against people who abuse the system and our tax dollars go towards a lot of that already.  
So how much do you give to charity on average OP?

Perhaps you and your God can donate on my behalf.  
 
My God gave me a severe illness, that after 25 years of full time work at the same company, I cannot work anymore.  
 
So your life may be grand and I hope do as your words say - I cannot, I have to watch every cent.

Some giving is simply donating. I regularly give to MCC and have been known to give money or goods directly to those less fortunate or GoFundMe. Not all giving is accounted for by the tax system. It may seem like we have more wealth but as for myself money is definitely tighter than a decade ago. Though I do make more money now.

I give a fair amount every year but almost never get a receipt for tax purposes. I don’t know why...just don’t bother checking that box. I guess I should.  
 
I also give a lot directly to people in need. That wouldn’t be showing up either.  
 
In fact, just the other day I realized I gave away so much food to a friend and the Samaritan house that I forgot to keep a few staples for me and had to improvise my recipe lol  
 
Not everybody can give large amounts but I do believe that a lot of people help others when needed

Wish I could afford to give regularly. I give as I can where I see actual differences, usually directly to the person not a donation plate. For someone educated but who earns less than 20,000 per year and a single parent of two with no child support( Bills total approx 18,000 per year) so I find it amusing how some seem to think this is a wealthy era ... I wish

I spend a heck of a lot of money on charity, but do not get tax receipts for my money. I would be wealthy if I did not dole out so much money for the poor unfortunate creature of this world. As it is, i just get by. I do okay, but there is no more left to give at the end of the month. Someone else will have to donate to those other causes.

I give over 50% of my yearly income to the biggest charity case there is, my government, the rest goes to bills like food and heat so I can survive the winter.  
 
That being said, I've never really felt the desire to donate to a big charity, too many times I read about these charities and how little actually goes to the charity itself compared to the salaries and expense accounts of the board members, I seem to recall one of the bigger charity that basically utilized 90% of donations to simply pay for board members and overhead.  
 
And don't get me started on religion, look at the net worth and land holdings of some of those groups or their scummy tactics of telling people about not getting into heaven if you don't give them money first.

My charity goes into our school. I spend money on classroom supplies, snacks, programs, and events for our students and community. I'm sure this is a very common thing. People often look to help those in need closest to them first before shelling out to anonymous organizations.

The Archdiocese of Winnipeg, which is the Catholic diocese where we are located, has a stewardship prayer that we are encouraged to pray. There is a specific passage that says:  
 
"We pray that we may be good stewards:  
that we will follow faithfully, serve joyfully, give  
generously, live responsibly, and possess sensibly.  
In gratitude for the abundant gifts You have so  
graciously given to us, we return to You the first  
fruits of these gifts, through acts of service and by  
generously sharing all that You have entrusted to us."  
 
(see https://www.archwinnipeg.ca/media/stewardship/docs/Stewardship%20Prayer%20Cards%204.pdf for entire prayer)  
 
We personally don't give 10% to charity, as per our income tax receipts. As others have stated, some of what we give isn't receipted (which is what Stats Can measures, I believe), but about 4-5% of our income is indeed given to charity, according to our receipts.  
 
But giving to charity isn't just giving money. It's giving time and talent. In our household, we put in hundreds of hours a year in volunteer work for different causes in our church, our community and in service to the greater public.  
 
I think it's unfair to characterize Brandon as uncharitable based on the Stats Can reporting. My experience has been that this is an incredibly charitable community, in both the material (stuff, money) and immaterial (time and talent).  
 
To accuse us otherwise is simply uncharitable.

not because I want to is because I have to right now, I am seeking a position that is suitable for my disability but it is hard and it is hard to get hired as no on wants you because of it (and it is not because I am dumb).  
 
It is very hard living day to day. You never know sometimes if you can afford fruits and vegetables, I volunteer during the week so I remain social and sane. I also donate what I no longer need to MCC as they are a worthy cause as I can not afford to give money to the church.  
 
I have gotten food from the food bank but as a single person with no kids there is not much, you learn to live on bread (I have gotten the like to snack on belay bread... Fav!..). I do thank them as if it wasn't for them I would go hungry.

I agree with many of those who have posted that not all charity is financial in nature, there are without a doubt many who give their time and talents to charitable causes which is not capitalized on, and I applaud them for doing so.  
 
I also agree with many of those who have posted that not everyone can give equally. I further acknowledge that perhaps there are even some within our society who can't give at all. The purpose of this post was not intended in any way to address any specific person.  
 
However, in response to Abbysmum, I disagree with you. I think that to call upon Brandonites to a greater degree of charitable giving is not an uncharitable thing in any way. Just as an activist who calls upon others to do more to help the environment, or as an advocate calls upon society to do more to champion human rights, there is nothing uncharitable about calling people to consider whether more can and should be done to give to charity. I agree with you that the Stats Can reporting need not necessarily reflect Brandon, but I would ask you Abbysmum, you really don't think more can be done? You truly believe that in our Canadian society we are as charitable as we should and could be? In particular in light of the information that I listed in my first post.  
 
I think that perhaps what many of us can and should do is question, are we becoming less charitable and giving as a society overall? I would further call upon those who can to seriously look at how blessed we are in Canada and to ask themselves can we give more?

Where did you find your stats?  
 
According to Stats Canada (link below) in 2013, 82% of Canadians made financial donations to a charitable or non-profit organizations. Also, "while the proportion of people aged 15 and over who made a financial donation was down by two percentage points from 2010, the trend in the donation amount followed an opposite direction. Between 2010 and 2013, the total amount donated by Canadians to charitable or non-profit organizations increased by 14%."  
Also, "the average annual amount per donor was $531, up $61 from 2010."  
 
As for volunteer hours, "44% of people, aged 15 years and older, participated in some form of volunteer work", which was down from 47% in 2010. "  
"In 2013, volunteers devoted about 1.96 billion hours to their volunteer activities, a volume of work that is equivalent to about 1 million full-time jobs. Volunteers contributed 154 hours on average in 2013, unchanged from 2010."  
 
Source: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-652-x/89-652-x2015001-eng.htm

Curlysister, your Stats Canada source come from the 2013 General Social Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating, so it is based on a survey given to people. I quote my source as coming from the Globe and Mail, which provides the statistics given to it by Statistics Canada. Those stats would have come from actual tax numbers.  
 
There appears to be a disparity in numbers between the survey you quote and the tax numbers produced by Stats Canada. This is unfortunate because it means that people are either lying in the survey, or they aren't reporting their charitable donations on their tax returns. There is an incentive to report your charitable donations on your tax returns because then you get a deduction in taxes, but there may be some reasons why people don't report them, such as making a non-tax deductible charitable donation or losing their receipt.

During the last several weeks I have received calls from a call centre soliciting funds for the liver foundation, kidney foundation, MADD, victims of crime, beyond the bridge childrens foundation to name only a few. They all bring up children in their little speal in order to put the guilt squeeze on you so you give more. The first tax receipt I received was for the liver foundation - when reading the very (and I mean very) fine print - it clearly stated that 51% - that's 51 cents of every dollar donated goes to the call centre to cover their costs of soliciting individuals. Another 5-9% goes to cover the administration fees of the charity - which means less then half the money donated actually goes to the people who need it. When I received a call yesterday looking for a donation to provide Christmas goodies for sick children in the childrens hospital I inquired of the gentleman how much of my donation was kept by the call centre - he did not know the exact amount - but did state that some funds were held back to pay the call centres expenses, employee wages and commissions - to which I replied thankyou - please don't ever phone here again and hung up. Food banks have barrels by store entrances you can put food in, your soup kitchens will gladly accept donations in addition to the Salvation Army - who provides a valuable service to the community. These organizations should take priority as they help individuals within the community.

I also want to add that basically every store I go into asks if I would like to donate to a certain charity. Sometimes it’s $2, $5, $10. It doesn’t seem like much at the time but over the span of the year that can add up to a decent amount.  
 
Some of us have dual incomes but that doesn’t necessarily mean we are better off. Most of the second income goes towards daycare.  
 
Also, as stated above, many people don’t go through the extra step of claiming donations when doing taxes.  
 
I don’t agree that there are less financial family obligations I would argue for many families there are more. If one isn’t caring in home for their elderly parent, perhaps they are paying to have an in home nurse or nursing home to cover the costs of, maybe extra curricular activities and sports for children.  
 
Many things to consider. I know most people contribute in some way, donate what they can and sacrifice their personal time to volunteer where they can in our community and should be proud.

.... the problem is the hypocrisy. The churches and corporations hold huge amounts of properties and wealth but continue to threaten and cajole folks with “little” to be charitable.  
 
Or it could be that the cultural directive to consume consume consume is stronger than the cultural desire for altruism.  
 
Personally I think it’s a combination of both the hypocrisy of those who “have” constantly turning to the “have nots” to solve the problems of the down trodden and less fortunate while the bulldozers of capitalism continue to demand we buy the next gizmo or gadget.  
 
We have the society we created.  
 
A wise man once said...  
 
“Don’t worry about what everyone is doing, just live the change you want to see.”........Grandpa

I give to charities regularly. I have not once claimed them on my taxes. I usually forget or can't find the receipts or just don't feel it's worthwhile. I do make sure I do my due diligence on how much of my donation goes towards the cause and how much is administrative costs and the salaries of those employed by them. I also give a lot for private fundraisers for friends etc. I am definitely not wealthy. I do not donate based on any religious obligations or feelings. I certainly don't based on guilt. In fact any of those pressure tactics would turn me off from a cause.

Spagetti monster, I agree, Very well said  
 
Edited by PowerOfaMom, 2019-09-25 11:34:05

For me, disposable income was the main reason for my drop-off in recent years. Well, lack thereof, after all, was said and done. It can be hard to support the needy when too many around you are convinced they are truly needy.  
 
But that's a whole new conversation lol.  
 
Another reason, however, is having more insight into where the money goes. Though I used to almost blindly support any and every charity that sent mail, I'm more careful to check expenditures now. I've learned that the most skewed charities (in terms of dollars spent on marketing compared to dollars spent on charitable causes) tend to be anything claiming to support the treatment of disease.  
Which makes life easier since they tend to be the generator of most of the charitable junk mail I used to receive.  
 
Another turn off for me is too many trinkets. Even without chacking the financials:  
 
1.) They have to get the money back for the purchased trinkets from somewhere. YOU.  
 
2.) I get enough psychological sales trickey on the average trip to the supermarket without having to deal with it at home, too. It's all about perceived obligation.  
 
They sampled this food, so I should really buy it. They sent me these labels (I WON'T USE!)/shipping bag/pens, so I should really give them SOMETHING . . .  
 
Edited by Simonwalcal, 2019-09-25 12:24:37

A lot of us donate lots to charities that you are not considering. Girl Guide cookies, Boy Scout popcorn, the school kids with chocolates, and moms pantry products. through the school year there is a constant line of children selling something to try raising money for their school or after school organization. I will always donate to them. The biggest problem is that the charities you refer to are absolutely not charities. If there is a board of directors padding their pockets with the bulk of the money its not a charity

You ask a lot of polarizing questions , Committed2Brandon, how much do you give to charity? Why do you ask these things? How are they your business? Are you, personally doing anything to make this world a better place? Or do you just want to rile people?  
If you haven't noticed, plenty of people in this community are doing their best to plan for the needs of the poor for the coming winter by stocking food banks and getting clothing donations and safe warm shelters for the homeless and other unfortunates. Are you among that number? The adage "Charity begins at home" is quite true in a sense, but don't think that the good people of Brandon and Area don't send money to national and international endeavors as well . Do you count yourself among them? Maybe you can go out and collect soda cans and save the pull tabs for a disable child to get a wheel chair instead of trolling people on eBrandon everyday with one of your controversial questions, believe me it would be a much better use of your time.

Is when a person gives but doesn't have to tell others.

NiceG, you and a few others have asked me about how much I give to charity. The problem with answering that question is that on the one hand if I did give a lot to charity, I would hope that I wouldn't want to boast about it. Further, if I did boast about it then quite likely others would criticize me for being sanctimonious, as has already happened in one of my other discussions pages. On the other hand if I did not give at least my fair share to charity then I probably should not have started this blog in the first place.  
 
Perhaps I started this discussion page because I know of the many blessings that can come from giving to charity, in particular if one is able to and does give away 10 percent of their income to charity. Perhaps I want others to know and experience these incredible blessings. Perhaps too I want to point out how we all can give more.  
 
Perhaps I believe that so much more can be done for those who suffer in this world. Perhaps I believe that there is so much suffering which still needs to be alleviated.  
 
NiceG, why are you bothered by my posts? You don't have to read them if you don't want to. Are you bothered by everyone else in this world who publishes their beliefs too?  
 
I disagree with your suggestion that collecting soda cans will be a much better use of my time. If even one person is inspired by these postings to give more, then I will be more then content and grateful to that person for having done so.

Exactly!  
People like to judge, its best to remain anonymous. Generosity, compassion, and humility go nicely together.

Why do we have capitalism in a sense of laisszez faire?

I know of someone who goes to church and they own lots of property and donate lots to the church...  
 
the church believes its god giving to the church. sorry no, it was the rich genetleman who gave to the church 1000's of dollars.

I refuse to give to organizations with “overhead” or CEOs with enormous salaries. Almost none of my donated dollars are tracked. Moms pantry, scouts popcorn, school book fairs, every raffle in our community under the sun, etc  
Also I donate a minimum of 40 hours a month of my time because I don’t have unlimited funds to be able to donate. My spouse is unable to volunteer as much time because he watches our kids while I volunteer.  
It drives me wild when people say others aren’t charitable. If you are so bothered about it, maybe look at yourself, your family, your friends and your community first. Be the change you want to see in the world. Set the example. Help get others involved.

I really like how sobeys (I assume other stores do it to), have those prepackaged bags for the foodbank, I just wish they were available year round, they're convenient to add to your cart and it feels like you are actually contributing a physical object to help someone.

I never buy those as they always seem to be filled with items the store has been unable to sell. rather pick my own items to donate.