Giving Compass' Take:

• Jane Stevenson reports that research from the Fraser Institute reveals a decline in giving in Canada, but charities are seeing mixed results in spite of the decline. 

• How can funders help to increase charitable giving? Where can donations be used for the most good? 

• Learn about the differences between charity and philanthropy. 

It appears the gift of giving in Canada isn’t as popular as it once was.

The Fraser Institute issued a report saying only 20.4% of Canadians donated to registered charities in 2016, down considerably from a decade ago when 32.2% of the population made donations in 2006.

And of the 64 North American jurisdictions ranked in the report — titled Generosity in Canada and the United States: The Generosity Index — Ontario was tied with Saskatchewan with only 21.5 % donating in 2016.

Various charity spokesmen confirmed this downward trend overall, but they all had different results from last year to this year — some were down, some were up and some remained the same.

“We were down slightly last year but it seems more so for this year by maybe 10 to 15% like overall, that includes all of our campaigns,” said Lynda Elmy, Director of Communications for Variety Village, which provides integrated health and fitness programs for disabled children.

At the other end of the spectrum, SickKids Foundation, the largest non-governmental granting agency in child health in Canada, says donorship is up between seven to 10% from last year to this year.

Read the full article about giving in Canada by Jane Stevenson at Toronto Sun.