MEDIA ADVISORY: CanadaHelps, Co-Founders of GivingTuesday in Canada, Encourages Generosity on December 3rd

After Black Friday and Cyber Monday, GivingTuesday celebrates giving and is critical for charities experiencing heightened demand for essential services

/EIN News/ -- TORONTO, Nov. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spokespersons from CanadaHelps, co-founders of GivingTuesday Canada and Canada’s largest online donation and fundraising platform, are available for media interviews to discuss GivingTuesday, which takes place this year on December 3rd. As many Canadians continue to struggle under financial pressure and are turning to charities to meet essential needs, CanadaHelps is highlighting how communities can unite this giving season by engaging in generosity.

As the world’s largest generosity movement, GivingTuesday celebrates and encourages all forms of giving, including donating, volunteering, performing acts of kindness, and more. More than $13.6 million was donated within 24 hours via CanadaHelps.org to support registered charities on GivingTuesday in 2023. This year, the organization is aiming to surpass last year’s total. The holiday season is a critical fundraising time for charities with approximately 40% of annual donations being made in the final two months of the year on CanadaHelps.org. The generosity shown on GivingTuesday and throughout the rest of the year sustains the vital work of charities year-round.

Spokespersons from CanadaHelps can discuss the following topics leading up to and on GivingTuesday:

Demand For Charitable Services
Generosity is especially critical given the record-breaking use of food banks reported across the country as Canadians struggle under financial pressures and turn to charities for daily essentials including food and shelter. Spokespeople can speak to findings from a recent Ipsos poll conducted for CanadaHelps with insights on Canadians turning to charities for support, including: 

• 21% of households earning an annual income of under $40,000 are currently relying on charitable services to meet essential needs such as food and shelter.
• More than half of Canadians (56%) with annual household incomes below $60,000 are unsure if they can continue to afford basic needs such as food and shelter, or if they will be forced to turn to charities for help in the near future.
• Notably, Canadians aged 35-54 (13%) rely on charitable services to meet essential needs such as food and shelter slightly more than those aged 18-34 (10%) or 55+ (5%).

How Canadians Can Participate in GivingTuesday
Spokespeople can highlight a variety of easy ways Canadians can participate in GivingTuesday, including donating to a favourite charity or cause, volunteering, fundraising, setting up a monthly donation, purchasing Charity Gift Cards (as holiday season gifts and stocking stuffers), performing acts of kindness, and so much more.

Impact of Canada Post Strike on Charities
Like so many small businesses that rely on postal service to deliver packages, many charities rely on direct mail which represents a critical portion of their annual revenue. With the Canada Post strike, many charities are concerned that they will be forgotten among supporters who would normally mail in a cheque at the end of the year. Spokespeople can speak to the impact of the labour dispute on Canada’s charitable sector, can share examples of charities in select cities that are affected, and offer alternatives to traditional mail for giving.

Challenges Facing Arts and Culture Charities
While the arts and culture sector provides significant personal and cultural benefits to Canadians, according to new Ipsos polling conducted for CanadaHelps, only 6% of the population says they prioritize arts and culture charities as important causes they support. Spokespeople can speak to the unique benefits of arts and culture organizations in uniting people, some of the challenges facing these charities, and highlight examples of the impact of specific arts charities in communities across Canada.

Holiday Gifts that Make an Impact
As Canadians search for the perfect gift to give this holiday season, spokespeople can discuss the variety of giving options for all budgets that can make a vital impact on charities and the communities that rely on them. 

Engaging Kids in Giving
Spokespeople can speak to creative ways that parents can use GivingTuesday to engage children in giving while also learning about specific causes of interest and impact.

Companies Leveraging GivingTuesday to Support Charities
Companies across the country are embracing GivingTuesday as a way to make a positive impact. Spokespeople can highlight how businesses are supporting charities, how it benefits their organizations, and provide examples of how select companies are supporting this day of generosity.

Financial Ways to Give Strategically
Spokespeople can speak to strategic ways of giving and using charitable tax benefits to receive up to 49% of their contribution back as a tax credit. They can also discuss how monthly donations and donations of securities are strategic ways to give and how these methods grew 11% and 32% respectively on CanadaHelps in 2023 compared to the prior year.

Top Causes and Giving Trends
For 11 consecutive years, fewer Canadians have been engaging in charitable giving. Canada Revenue Agency tax filer data shows donation rates declined from 23.4 percent in 2010 to 17.7 percent in 2021 (among those Canadians claiming tax receipts). Spokespeople can speak to popular causes Canadians are supporting, ways Canadians are giving, and how we can reverse declines in the number of Canadians who give.

Uniting Communities Through Generosity
Canadians are increasingly disconnected and have shrinking social networks, which is correlated with lower rates of giving. Recent global data also highlighted how Canada is the second most polarized nation when it comes to giving, only behind Great Britain.* Spokespeople are available to speak to these trends and how generosity can unite communities this holiday season. 

The Impact and History of GivingTuesday
GivingTuesday has global roots and has made a local impact. Launched in 2012 in the United States as a response to Black Friday and Cyber Monday and brought to Canada in 2013 by CanadaHelps, GivingTuesday is now celebrated in more than 90 countries. In Canada, an estimated six million Canadians have participated in GivingTuesday.

Resources:

• Media resources including b-roll, recently released Ipsos polling data, images, spokesperson biographies and headshots, and recent press releases are available for download in this online media kit. These resources may be helpful for media looking for additional insights, or for those who are unable to conduct an interview, but would still like to cover GivingTuesday.
• Phone, Zoom, Skype, or Facetime interviews can be booked with CanadaHelps. Interviews can be conducted in person in Toronto and some select cities based on team availability.
• CanadaHelps can arrange interviews with local or national registered Canadian charities to speak about their impact, challenges, and how Canadians can support them on GivingTuesday.

About CanadaHelps
CanadaHelps is Canada’s largest online donation and fundraising platform, and a charity advancing philanthropy through technology. For Canadians, CanadaHelps.org is a safe and trusted destination for discovering and supporting any charity in Canada. CanadaHelps also develops affordable fundraising technology used by more than 30,000 charities, and provides free training and education so all charities can increase their impact and succeed in the digital age. Since 2000, more than 4.8 million people have donated upwards of $3.2 billion through CanadaHelps. Connect with CanadaHelps on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

*GivingTuesday Global, The Giving Bridge: A Lookback at 2023 Trends in Global Generosity

Jodi Echakowitz
                    Boulevard PR (on behalf of CanadaHelps)
                    media@canadahelps.org