Online Fundraising in 2020: The Numbers Are In

2020 was a difficult year for the charitable sector. Charities quickly adapted to physical distancing measures, taking their work, service-delivery, and fundraising online. Many experienced higher demand for their services while losing critical revenue streams.

However, in the face of these challenges, it was also a year of resilience and generosity. While overall giving was down, online giving grew substantially last year, up 116% over 2019.

In this uncertain time, we are grateful to have supported more than 23,000 charities across Canada with our online fundraising tools. We’re also proud to have continued connecting donors with the causes closest to their hearts, at a time when their help is needed more than ever.

Together, here’s what we’ve accomplished in 2020:

In 2020, more than 1.1 million generous Canadians made a donation using CanadaHelps, an increase of 95% from the year prior. These donations supported more than 29,900 charities across the country, 22% more than the year before.

Cause Funds are a new and easy way to give!

New to CanadaHelps in 2020 was the launch of 31 Cause Funds, a new and innovative way to give to a cause close to your heart. When a donation is made to a Cause Fund, your gift makes a broad and lasting impact by supporting a group of trusted charities working towards the same cause.

Cause Funds like the COVID-19 Healthcare and Hospital Fund raised over $2.7 million for hospital foundations across the country battling COVID-19 on the frontlines, and the Black Solidarity Fund raised more than $1.8 million for charities supporting Black Canadians. Many more Cause Funds raised thousands of dollars to support Canadian charities leading efforts to end hunger, protect the environment, support Indigenous Peoples, fund performing arts initiatives, support literacy, and so much more.

In total, the 31 Cause Funds available on CanadaHelps raised more than $6.9 million to support over 6,300 charities.

Doing good together, while staying apart.

Even while far a part, Canadians rallied their family, friends, and communities together to fundraise for a cause close to their heart. More than 4,000 CanadaHelps fundraisers were launched raising more than $7.8 million for charities across Canada, a 79% increase in dollars raised from 2019.

Fundraisers like John Hillman raised over $166,000 for Save the Children Canada, while a team of front line workers at St. Michael’s Hospital raised over $40,000 for a group of charities in Toronto.

Monthly giving makes a difference year-round!

Canadians also gave generously year-round with a monthly donation. More than 917,000 monthly gifts were made to charities across Canada throughout the year, an increase of 39% from 2019. Good for Canadians and charities, monthly giving not only allows Canadians to plan their giving and make a difference year-round, it also allows charities to focus on their mission by worrying less about administration and constant fundraising, by knowing that they can rely on monthly funds.

More than $28.2 million was raised by Canadians who give monthly on CanadaHelps, an increase of 23% from 2019.

CanadaHelps is here for all charities — no matter how big or small.

As Canada’s 86,000 charities have been forced to adapt to the enormous challenges brought about by COVID-19, many charities have had to make up for funds lost from cancelled in-person fundraising events. Some charities have even been forced to shut their physical doors, or transition from in-person services to providing services virtually in order to continue supporting the communities who rely on them.

As many charities turned to online fundraising for the first time, hundreds of new charities turned to CanadaHelps to start fundraising online. Now, more than 23,000 charities are registered with CanadaHelps and rely on our affordable and easy-to-use fundraising tools, a 15% increase from the year prior. More than 10,200 charity professionals accessed our educational webinars where they learned how to improve their fundraising and adapt to the changing charitable landscape.

While COVID-19 and the year 2020 was quite challenging, it was also an inspiring year where we saw boundless inspiration, generosity, and true resiliency. 2020 has proven that charities are more important than ever and will need to continue to be supported well beyond 2021. Charities feed families, seniors, and children in need, they are there to shelter someone experiencing homelessness, and they are there to plant trees to preserve and care for the planet.

As we look ahead to 2021 we are more committed than ever to help charities survive and thrive in 2021. More than $1.6 billion has been raised to support Canadian charities over our 20 year history from more than 2.8 million generous Canadians who chose to give with CanadaHelps. We can’t wait to see how generous Canadians are in 2021.

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