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Charities and nonprofits in Canada operate in a unique environment when it comes to raising revenues. In Canada, the general funding landscape of  the nonprofit sector shows that fuding comes from 4 sources: Governments, gifts and donations, earned income and other options (such as transfers from businesses). 

There are two primary sources for statistics on charitable and nonprofit organizations:

The Satellite Account of Non-profit Institutions and Volunteering by Statistics Canada is a very good study for comparing data over time, covering 2000-2007.

A comprehensive study segmenting funding for sub-sector organizations can be found in: Cornerstones of community : highlights of the National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations : 2003 revised (Hall et al, 2005) [available online]

An excerpt from this study shows revenues of nonprofit organizations, by province or territory, Canada, 2003

Detailed regional reports on funding data and issues for oragnization are availalbe on a provincial level,  from the National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations (NSNVO) are available for earlier dates.

Individual Donors

Data on how individuals support nonprofits can be found in the studies from the "Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating" (CSGVP), the most recent being:

Caring Canadians, involved Canadians : highlights from the 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. 2009. (PDF file).

For longitudinal data, see the most recent Trends in individual donations : 1984-2010. (2011). All original reports showing this data are availalbe on our sister website: www.givingandvolunteering.ca

Connections between the economy and the financial health of charities

Comprehensive research comparing overall state of the economy with the health of the Canadian charitable sector is still in development.   Imagine Canada's Sector Monitor series has looked at the current impact of the economic downturn of charities in Canada between late 2008- 2009.