Well, here is some interesting data on median donations by Ontario CMA in 2015 available from Statistics Canada (Table 111-0001). It is of course useful as an index of local generosity to charitable causes. Please note it is not a complete index as it only takes into account the value of donations and charitable activity also can involve a great deal of donated volunteer time - which this measure does not capture. Nevertheless, Figure 1 is somewhat disappointing when one looks at the performance of northern Ontario.
The median donation ranges from a high of $470 for Wellington Centre to a low of $140 dollars for Petawawa. With the exception of Elliot Lake which is in the middle of the distribution, northern Ontario cities are all clustered in the bottom third. Elliot Lake comes in at $340 followed by Kenora at $290, North Bay at $270 and Thunder Bay at $260. Timmins and the Sault are at the bottom of the northern median donation list at $160 and $210 respectively. It is a somewhat disappointing performance given our self-perception as being very community minded.
Of course, a possible explanation could be that the value of donations is a reflection of lower incomes in the North. However, as my l
ast post demonstrated, income growth has been pretty robust in northern Ontario. Moreover, as Figure 2 shows, the median income of donors across Ontario CMAs shows that the northern Ontario CMAs are more dispersed across the income range. Donor incomes in northern Ontario CMAs are not clustered at the bottom. Elliot Lake, is at the bottom of the donor income plot and yet is the most generous northern Ontario CMA whereas Sudbury which has the highest median donor income is near the bottom when it comes to median donation values.
Needless to say, I am not too despondent over this. While all I can offer is anecdotal evidence, I think that donors in northern communities probably are much more giving of their time than money when it comes to charitable activity. Thunder Bay for example has numerous community events - most recently the 2017 18U World Cup - that are only possible via the selfless activity of numerous volunteers. Then there are the activities of food banks and other facilities that also rely heavily on donated time. So, in the end, when it comes to charity, I think money is not everything. Still, it would be nice to see those numbers go up. If Elliot Lake can do it, why not everyone else.
