The “General Social Survey - Giving, Volunteering and Participating” (GSS-GVP) is a treasure trove of information that can help fundraisers in their day-to-day work say the leaders of Imagine Canada, Volunteer Canada and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Canada.
Conducted by Statistics Canada every five years, the two primary objectives of the GSS-GVP survey are:
1. To gather data on social trends to monitor changes in the living conditions and well-being of Canadians over time; and,
2. to provide information on specific social policy issues of current or emerging interest.
The survey is the result of a partnership of federal government departments and voluntary sector organizations that includes Canadian Heritage, Health Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Canada Revenue Agency, Statistics Canada, Imagine Canada, and Volunteer Canada.
“The GSS-GVP data is valuable because it provides a point-in-time reflection for analyzing trends and donor behaviour over time,” says Megan Conway, CEO of Volunteer Canada. “This is important for fundraisers because it helps them understand how donor patterns have evolved or devolved over time. In an environment of constant change, a baseline for comparing trends is crucial for strategically identifying areas to focus on within fundraising and volunteering.”She adds that while the environment may have changed since the 2018 GSS-GVP data was collected, it still provides valuable insights into giving and volunteering patterns in Canada that can inform future decision-making and planning.
Dave Lasby is the director of research for Imagine Canada and has been studying emergent issues of interest to the sector for more than a decade. “It’s important to understand that much of the data produced by the GSS-GVP is driven by demographic, social and economic trends that don’t tend to change that rapidly,” he says in response to a question about why 2018 data is relevant today. “While the pandemic has driven or accelerated a lot of change, the long track record of this and predecessor surveys back to 1997 shows continuity even across significant dislocations such as the 2008/09 economic downturn.”
He believes the results of the upcoming survey will show a lot more commonality than differences with previous editions of the survey. According to StatsCan, the data for the survey will be generated in the fall of 2023, when they say they are hoping to reach a sample of 60,000 respondents. The study itself will be disseminated in 2025.
“We know that there is a lack of data in our sector,” says Lisa Davey, vice president of AFP Canada, who speaks to scores of fundraisers about their work and challenges every week. “AFP Canada, and many others in our sector, consistently advocate for more data on our sector. While the need for more data remains, we want to use the data that is available to us through the GSS-GVP. That’s why we are focused on raising awareness about the GSS-GVP—we want to promote the value of this data helping to make it more accessible.
“The data points can also be helpful for reports, proposals and even to help support requests internally for funds to develop new fundraising programs,” says Davey. “Seeing what keeps Canadians from giving more or how they like to give is very helpful information for fundraisers, particularly as they develop their programs and fundraising plans.”
AFP Canada is working in partnership with Imagine Canada, Volunteer Canada, Ajah, Volunteer Management Professionals of Canada and the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada to develop tools that will help fundraisers use data to understand trends in the charitable and volunteer sectors, identify strengths and gaps and even discover new opportunities. One of those tools is the Canadian Knowledge Hub for Giving and Volunteering website.
“The website makes it easy to explore the data,” says Davey. “For example, we can see who donates and how much they give, in Canada or by province, how they give, and the type of organizations they support. With the Canadian Knowledge Hub for Giving and Volunteering website, we are working to make data more useful and accessible to fundraisers,” says Davey. “As David Lasby points out—to move from data to knowledge, that is our aim.”
Read the full article, here.
AFP Canada, a nonprofit formed in 2017, was created to bring a Canadian perspective to AFP’s government relations and communications programs. AFP Canada represents more than 3,000 fundraising leaders across the country working to support causes and missions that help Canadians from coast to coast to coast. The organization serves as the voice of the fundraising profession in Canada and is part of the larger AFP Global network, the largest community of professional fundraisers in the world.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash.
