Boomers Remain Generous to Charities
Lina Ko November 12th, 2009
In spite of a tough economic climate, most Canadian boomers are still giving generously when it comes to charitable donations of money and time. According to a new survey by the BMO Retirement Institute, an overwhelming majority of Canadians open their wallets to charities and other philanthropic causes, with an 84 percent donor rate in 2007 resulting in more than $10 billion. This represents a 12 percent increase or $1.1 billion over figures from 2004.
The report also indicated that Canadians’ generosity went beyond financial donations in 2007 as well, with 2.1 billion hours of volunteered time to charities – equating more than a million full-time jobs.
According to the BMO report, titled The Evolution of Giving: From Charity to Philanthropy, boomers also have lofty charitable goals for the next five years, with 82 percent saying they intend to at least maintain their current contribution rates.
I’ve blogged before on the subject of boomers wanting to give back to the community as they mature. Charitable causes might just continue to be recession-proof because of the boomers’ contributions!
