Charitable gift the preference for most Canadians

Poll also reveals that people want to cut back on their Christmas expenditures this year

Charitable gift the preference for most Canadians

Recent Ipsos research done on behalf of CanadaHelps.org suggests that over half of Canadians (47%) would prefer to receive a charity contribution from their family, friends, neighbours, and coworkers this year rather than a more traditional present.

One-quarter (24%) would rather a charitable donation made in their name to a charity selected by the gift giver with a concrete impact, such as feeding a community member in need, or sending a child to school.

This is a popular choice among Albertans, with 30% preferring to receive this sort of gift.

Comparably, 23% would like a charity gift card, where the charity they selected would be the beneficiary of the remainder of the gift card. Twenty-nine per cent of Albertans prefer this style of present.

Over half of Canadians (53%), meanwhile, would rather receive a conventional gift with no philanthropic impact, such as a sweater, movie passes, candles, technology, a book, and chocolate.

Traditional gifts are most preferred by Atlantic Canadians, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (58%), British Columbia (56%), Ontario (54%), Quebec (51%), and Alberta (40%).

Given inflationary and financial concerns, Canadians plan to cut back on Christmas spending this year, according to the survey.

One-third (35%) expect to spend less on holiday gifts this year, while 7% expect to spend more. One-third (31%) will spend roughly the same amount, while 19% have not yet decided. One-tenth (9%) do not buy holiday gifts.

Plans to cut back on spending were more common among respondents with children compared to those without (46% vs. 31%). Holiday purse-tightening expectations were also higher among women respondents (40%) compared to men (31%).

A recent survey from Equifax Canada also found Canadian households are cutting back on Christmas gifts.

In Equifax’s survey, 60% of respondents said they’re spending less due to inflationary pressures.

Another 41% of people said they’re putting a lid on spending because they’re too heavily in debt, up from 36% last year.

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