Editor:
I was happy to see the article about charitable giving in your March 27 issue. Philanthropy and charitable giving are a critical element of our society, contributing to every aspect of our local, regional, national and global well-being.
As such, the more we talk about giving, the non-profit sector (or social profit sector as an alternative handle, which I fully support), the more societal good can be done.
While I applaud the focus on charity and giving, I was disappointed in the lack of accuracy and rigour in the data used. As a professional who works with charities to build their organizational capacity and with donors on their philanthropic strategies, I felt compelled to write to you as I believe that Bow Valley residents can benefit by being as informed as possible about the charitable sector.
Conclusions based on 36,588 tax returns files across a country with 25 million tax filers annually? As of March 10 when the filing deadline is April 30? Using only one tax filing source? No wonder the conclusions are flawed.
Statistics Canada information from 2011 was used for analysis. There was an unusual jump in donations in Canmore in 2011 (84 per cent), and the numbers return to a more normal level in 2012, putting Canmore in a position of being above the national average donation, but by a much slimmer margin. My guess is that one very generous resident made a unusually large donation that year, completely skewing the average results. So now we have compared 2011 data and a partial reporting from 2013 to make the story.
Nunavut is raised in your article as having one of the highest average donation size – an accurate statement. More interesting when you consider that the percentage of tax filers that are donors is nine per cent, versus the national average of 23 per cent and Canmore’s 25 per cent based on 2012 Statistics Canada reports.
One could conclude that a very small number of Nunavut residents are carrying the load versus a higher average of Canmore residents sharing the load.
Finally, I challenge you to continue to explore this topic – but from the perspective of what really matters. What is the value to our society and our communities of charitable giving? How are people deciding who to support and why? Are we handcuffing charities by focusing the measures of success on the wrong things?
Kathy Arney,
Banff
