In this piece, titled “Mind the gap: Philanthropy and Canada’s high-net-worth data deficit,” originally published by Canadian Family Offices website, our expert advisor in family philanthropy Sharilyn Hale and co-author Keith Sjögren shed light on a critical blind spot within Canada’s charitable sector: the glaring lack of data surrounding high-net-worth (HNW) philanthropists.
The key concepts explored in this article are:
- The Philanthropic Data Deficit A mere 6 per cent of Canadian donors contribute a staggering 40 per cent of all charitable donations. While charities are deeply dependent on HNW and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals, the sector is largely operating in the dark. There is a material knowledge gap regarding who these generous individuals are, how they think, and why they give.
- Income vs. Accumulated Wealth While Canada has reliable, segmented data on income through annual tax filings, there is no comparable information on the accumulated wealth of affluent Canadians. This is a significant hurdle because most major charitable gifts do not flow from income, but from wealth held in investment portfolios, private foundations, and donor-advised funds. Currently, estimates of Canada’s wealthy vary wildly due to inconsistent methodologies, making it incredibly difficult for charities to develop accurate major gift strategies.
- Understanding the HNW Mindset Affluent philanthropists navigate vastly different considerations in their giving compared to the broader public. However, the sector lacks insight into what makes them tick: how their wealth was created, how they engage family members, and what truly drives their social investments. Without these insights, charities struggle to build meaningful relationships, and generous families are left without benchmarks to understand how their peers approach philanthropy.
- A Call for Private Sector Investment In countries like the U.S., the U.K., and Switzerland, financial institutions regularly fund robust research into affluent philanthropy. In contrast, Canada has not seen a comprehensive, objective study on HNW philanthropy in two decades. Sharilyn emphasizes that funding this research must be viewed as an investment with long-term societal returns, rather than a mere cost. There is a profound opportunity for the financial services and wealth management industries to step up and fund the data that both donors and the charitable sector desperately need.
To dive deeper these insights, read the full article here: Mind the gap: Philanthropy and Canada’s high-net-worth data deficit
