The generosity of Canadians has increased steadily over the past three decades, according to a new Statistics Canada study, but the way we give has changed dramatically.

There is an increasing preference for giving cash directly to others instead of groups.

"There is clear evidence of two long-term diverging trends: Rising generosity to individuals and a declining willingness to contribute to a collective good of some kind as represented by charitable, especially religious, organizations," Paul Reed writes in Generosity in Canada: Trends in Personal Gifts and Charitable Donations Over Three Decades, 1969-1997.

The value of gifts and donations almost doubled in the period studied, rising to $1,700 per household in 1997 from $986 in 1969. (All figures are constant 1996 dollars.) This level of giving translates to 4.5 per cent of disposable income, up from 3.3 per cent.

In 1997, Canadian households gave an average of $1,295 to individuals, of which $786 was cash and $509 non-monetary gifts like toys, clothes and flowers. That was a 60-40 split. In 1969, total gift-giving was markedly lower at $615. The split between cash and non-monetary gifts was 40-60, with $235 a year in cash gifts and $380 in non-cash ones.

Mr. Reed found that, on the surface, donations to charitable groups have remained steady over the past three decades, but as a proportion of total household giving, charitable contributions declined to 24 per cent from 38 per cent. Similarly, the number of households that do not contribute anything at all to charity rose from 22 to 27 per cent.

The overall decrease in charitable giving is due to a large drop in giving to religious institutions, Mr. Reed found. In 1997, 38 per cent of Canadian households gave to a religious institution, down from 59 per cent in 1969. During the same time period, donations to secular groups increased to $146 per household in 1997 from $95 in 1969.

The Statistics Canada research also confirms work that has previously been done underlining significant regional disparities in giving.

Quebec is below-average on all fronts, while the Prairie provinces and B.C. are above-average. Quebec has the lowest proportion of giving to religious organizations, with one in nine homes giving money to a religious group. There are more than 80,000 registered charities in Canada. They raise about $10.5-billion annually in donations.

Mr. Reed is a social scientist at Statistics Canada and a professor at Carleton University in Ottawa.

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