Prince George residents continue to give both time and money to local charities at an impressive rate, according to Prince George Community Foundation executive director Judy Neiser.
"Locally we find people in Prince George are very, very generous," Neiser said. "The not for profit sector wouldn't be what it is, without people giving of their time and talent, the income is certainly a portion of it, but it's not the biggest thing by any means."
The Fraser Institute released its annual report on generosity Thursday, which gave mixed marks to British Columbians. In the overall index, B.C. ranked seventh in Canada with a score of 3 out of 10, behind first-place Manitoba at 3.8. However B.C. placed second in average charitable contribution ($1,832) and fourth in percentage of aggregate income donated (0.80 per cent). The province was seventh, with just 22 per cent of residents filing taxes reporting charitable contributions.
The report highlighted the gap between charitable giving between Canada and the United States. There were 37 American states that scored higher than Manitoba, with Utah leading that way at 8.9. In the Beehive State, 34 per cent of tax filers donated representing 3.17 per cent of aggregate income.
"This index shows that private monetary generosity in Canada is considerably lower than in the United States," Nachum Gabler, Milagros Palacios and Charles Lamman wrote in the report. "This generosity gap undoubtedly limits the ability of charities to improve the quality of life in Canada."
Neiser took issue with the report's conclusions. She said the report only paints part of the picture because it only takes into account donations where a tax benefit was claimed. Other ways of helping, like donating time or buying lottery tickets are excluded.
"We find in Prince George there's a huge volunteer base, I think Prince George has been known around the province as being the volunteer capital of B.C.," she said. "When people give of their time, that's not something that registers on the radar screen of the Fraser Institute or the [Canadian Revenue Agency], but it's still generosity, just in a different form."
The report also doesn't add in small donations, like those made at a supermarket checkout.
"That adds up to huge dollars," Neiser said.
In the last 10 years, the Fraser Institute reports a nearly five per cent drop in the number of British Columbians donating and those donations showing up on tax records, however there's been a more than 10 per cent increase in the percentage of income donated over that same time period.
For the Community Foundation, Neiser said the amount of money coming in has increased steadily over the years which she attributes to the benefits people see from the work her organization has done in the city.
Meanwhile, the Salvation Army still has some distance to go to reach its goals for the Christmas campaign this year.
"The Salvation Army in Prince George is currently at less than 50 per cent of our target for this year's campaign, though we remain confident that the community will once again show why it has such a great reputation for supporting one another," said Captain Neil Wilkinson on Thursday.
Between donations to the kettles around the city and its Tree of Lights campaign, the church and social agency is aiming to raise $300,000 from local residents.
"It's important for the community to know that the funds raised through our Christmas campaign provides resources for our overall services to community throughout the year," Wilkinson said. "We want to encourage our supporters to please donate when they see a kettle around town - every little bit helps."
Donations can also be made at The Salvation Army headquarters in Prince George at 777 Ospika Blvd. and online at fillthekettle.com.
Although some charities, like the Salvation Army, make a big push during the holiday season, others like the Community Foundation play it low key this time of year. Neiser said many of the donations that come in around the holiday seasons come from people wanting to get a tax receipt for that year.
"It's always nice to accommodate people's giving wishes with a tax receipt," she said. "It certainly gives a boost to any not for profit to receive a donation this time of year, but I think in Prince George there are people who are on monthly donation plans, there are people who donate quarterly, there are people that give for a variety of reasons."
- With files from Mark Nielson
