from The Globe and Mail:

Donations bounce back after two-year lull, but age of givers stubbornly high

Statistics Canada data released Monday show that tax filers claimed donations of just under $8.3-billion in 2010, up 6.5 per cent from 2009. At the same time, the number of donors increased 2.2 per cent to just over 5.7 million Canadians, but the average age of donors remains 53 – a figure that has remained relatively the same for the past decade.

… “For the last 20 years, the percentage of tax filers claiming donations has been steadily going down from about [traditionally] 30 per cent,” said Marcel Lauzière, the president and CEO of Imagine Canada, an umbrella organization for charities.

This year, the figure climbed back slightly to 23.4 per cent, up from the all-time low of 23.1 per cent in 2009, but Mr. Lauzière fears the overall downward trend, coupled with effects of the recession might, have nudged Canadians out of the habit of donating.