Windsor’s wilting charity and renewal

By Ryan Percy

While Windsor is behind the national average for charity, the newer generations are more generous than older ones.

In 2016, roughly 26.4 million Canadians filed their taxes. Nearly 5.4 million people filed charitable donations.

According to Statistics Canada, Canadians donated roughly $8.9 billion to charity in 2016. This is less than one per cent of the country’s GDP for that year. These donations are enough to build approximately 28 CN Towers.

Of the 8.9 billion charitable donations, roughly 44 per cent were from Ontario.

The average donation size in Canada is nearly $1,646. In Windsor the average is 22 per cent lower than the national average.

Oshawa, Ont. has a similar population size and average income but slightly more individuals filing taxes than Windsor. However, their average donation was roughly 16 per cent higher while their median income was only about 9 per cent higher.

The younger millennials and generation z Windsor residents, aged zero to 24 years, are more charitable according to Statistics Canada. They donation at 98 per cent of the national average compared with the 72 to 79 per cent of the older age brackets. Windsor charities and non-profits are also receiving more funding each year.

Marian Drouillard, a Tecumseh Terry Fox Run committee member, said each year the run surpasses the previous year’s total. In 2018 they made nearly $102,000.

“Every year I hear from many people how thankful they are for the Run and all that the committee members and volunteers do,” said Drouillard. “It feels good to know we are not only raising a heck of a lot of money for cancer research, but we have a positive impact on people and families who love the opportunity to share the day, support each other and build community.”

Local non-profits such as the Downtown Mission are run primarily off of donations. Roughly 94 per cent of their 10 million dollar revenue in 2017. They use this money to provide food and clothing to over 15,000 individuals, equivalent to one of every 19 Windsor residents, among other services to the community.

While the people of Windsor are below the national average for charitable giving, the younger generations appear to be moving to change this.