Appendix 1
Glossary of terms

View the most recent version.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

Archived

This page has been archived on the Web.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]71-542-x[an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Certain key variables or concepts are used frequently in the data analyses and interpretations contained in this report. Rather than defining these concepts in each section, we have provided an alphabetical summary below.

Average annual donations
This is the average amount donated by donors to charitable and other nonprofit organizations during the 12-month reference period preceding the survey. It is not the average over the entire population.

Average annual volunteer hours
This is the average number of hours volunteers gave of their time on behalf of charitable and other nonprofit organizations over the 12-month reference period preceding the survey.  It is not the average over the entire population.

Donors
These are people who made at least one donation of money to a charitable or other nonprofit organization in the 12-month reference period preceding the survey. This definition excludes those who made donations of loose change to coin collection boxes located beside cash registers at store check-outs.

Donor rate
This is the percentage of a given population that made at least one donation of money to a charitable or other nonprofit organization in the 12-month reference period preceding the survey.

Core supporters
These are people who are Top Donors (see definition below), and who volunteered at least once in the 12-month reference period preceding the survey.

Direct helpers
These are people who reported having helped people on their own, that is, not through a group or organization, in the 12-month reference period preceding the survey. This includes help given directly to friends, neighbours and relatives, but excludes help given to anyone living in their household. These people are sometimes referred to as Informal volunteers. Direct helping is not included in estimates of volunteer rates.

Employed
People who worked for pay or profit during the week preceding the survey are considered to be employed, as are those who had a job but were not at work for reasons such as illness, family responsibilities or vacation. Persons on layoff are not considered to be employed.

Financial donation
A financial donation is money given to a charitable or other nonprofit organization during the 12-month reference period preceding the survey. Money given to the same organization, on multiple occasions, through the same solicitation method, constitutes only one donation. For example, all money donated to a particular religious institution over the 12 months preceding the survey, through a collection at the place of worship, would be considered to be a single donation.

Household income
Data on household income are based on total household income from all sources before taxes during the 12-month reference period. Items such as tips, commissions, alimony and child support are included.

Immigrants
These are people who were not born in Canada, but have obtained landed immigrant status (have been granted the right to live in Canada by immigration authorities). They may or may not have been Canadian citizens at the time of the interview.

Informal volunteers
See Direct helpers.

In-kind donations
These are gifts of food, clothing, toys or household goods made to charitable or other nonprofit organizations.

Mandatory community service
This is unpaid help provided to a group or organization that was mandated, or required, by a school, an employer, a charitable or nonprofit organization, or some other authority. The 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (CSGVP) includes mandatory community service in its estimates of volunteering.

Median
The median value is the statistical 'halfway point' of a distribution of values. The median donation, for example, is the value for which half of donors report higher donations and half report lower donations.

Not in the labour force
These are people who were neither employed nor unemployed during the week preceding the survey.

Organization classification
Respondents were asked to provide information on the organizations for which they volunteered and to which they made donations. Respondents were first asked to provide the name of the organization. A look-up table including the most common organizations reported in the 2000 and 2004 surveys was used. If the organization cited by the respondent was not on this pick-list, the respondent was then asked to provide information about the purpose of the organization in order to place it in a broad category.

To classify these organizations, the International Classification of Nonprofit Organizations (ICNPO)¹  was used. Although they are classified according to their primary area of activity, some organizations operate in multiple areas. An advantage of the ICNPO system is that it is widely used by other countries, allowing for international comparisons. It has also been devised specifically to reflect the range and nature of activities typically undertaken in the nonprofit and voluntary sector. The ICNPO system developed by the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, and modified for use in Canada, groups organizations into 15 major activity categories:

1. Arts and Culture: This category includes organizations and activities in general and specialized fields of arts and culture, including media and communications; visual arts, architecture, ceramic art; performing arts; historical, literary and humanistic societies; museums; and zoos and aquariums.
2. Sports and Recreation: This category includes organizations and activities related to amateur sports (including fitness and wellness centers) and recreation and social clubs (including service clubs).
3. Education and research: This category includes organizations and activities administering, providing, promoting, conducting, supporting and servicing education and research. This includes: (1) primary and secondary education organizations; (2) organizations involved in other education (that is, adult/continuing education and vocational/technical schools); and (3) organizations involved in research (that is, medical research, science and technology, and social sciences).
4. Universities and Colleges: This category includes organizations and activities related to higher learning. This includes universities, business management schools, law schools and medical schools.
5. Health: This category includes organizations that engage primarily in out-patient health-related activities and health support services. This includes: mental health treatment and crisis intervention and other health services (that is, public health and wellness education, out-patient health treatment, rehabilitative medical services, and emergency medical services).
6. Hospitals: This category includes hospitals, nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals and activities related to rehabilitation such as inpatient health care and rehabilitative therapy.
7. Social services: This category includes organizations and institutions providing human and social services to a community or target population. Three subgroups are included: (1) social services (including organizations providing services for children, youth, families, the handicapped and the elderly, and self-help and other personal social services); (2) emergency and relief; and (3) income support and maintenance.
8. Environment: This category includes organizations promoting and providing services in environmental conservation, pollution control and prevention, environmental education and health, and animal protection. Two subgroups are included: environment and animal protection.
9. Development and housing: This category includes organizations promoting programs and providing services to help improve communities and promote the economic and social well-being of society. Three subgroups are included: (1) economic, social and community development (including com-munity and neighbourhood organizations); (2) housing; and (3) employment and training.
10. Law, advocacy and politics: This category includes organizations and groups that work to protect and promote civil and other rights, advocate the social and political interests of general or special constituencies, offer legal services, and promote public safety.Three subgroups are included: (1) civic and advocacy organizations; (2) law and legal services; and (3) political organizations.
11. Grant-making, fundraising and voluntarism promotion: This category includes philanthropic organizations and organizations promoting charity and charitable activities including grant-making foundations, organizations promoting and supporting voluntarism, and fundraising organizations.
12. International: This category includes organiza-tions promoting cultural understanding between peoples of various countries and historical backgrounds, as well as those providing emergency relief and promoting development and welfare abroad.
13. Religion: This category includes organizations promoting religious beliefs and administering religious services and rituals (for example, churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, shrines, seminaries, monasteries and similar religious institutions), in addition to related organizations and auxiliaries of such organizations.
14. Business and professional associations, unions: This category includes organizations promoting, regulating and safeguarding business, professional and labour interests.
15. Groups not elsewhere classified.

Participants
These are people who reported membership or participation in at least one group, organization or association in the 12-month reference period preceding the survey.

Participation rate
This is the percentage of a given population that belonged to at least one group, organization or association at some time during the 12-month reference period preceding the survey.

Population
Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (CSGVP): Individuals aged 15 and older, living in one of the ten Canadian provinces. Excluded are those who were institutionalized.

CSGVP–North: Individuals aged 15 and older, living in one of the three Canadian territories. Excluded are those who were institutionalized as well as full time members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Note: throughout this publication, the term Canadians is often used to refer to the survey population, even though some respondents may not have been Canadian citizens at the time of the interview.

Rate of direct helping
This is the percentage of a given population that helped other people directly, that is, not through a group or organization, at some time during the 12-month reference period preceding the survey.

Reference period
CSGVP: The 12-month period preceding the interview. Interviews were conducted from September 10 to December 08, 2007.
CSGVP–North: The 12-month period preceding the interview. Interviews were conducted from September 10 to December 08, 2007.

Top donors
Top donors are defined as the 25% of donors who contributed the most money. These people gave $364 or more during the twelve month period preceding the survey.

Top volunteers
Top volunteers are defined as the 25% of volunteers who contributed the most hours. These people volunteered 171 hours or more during the twelve month period preceding the survey.

Unemployed
Unemployed people are those who, during the week preceding the survey, were without work but were not permanently unable to work, and had actively looked for work in the four weeks preceding the survey.

Volunteers
These are people who volunteered, that is, who performed a service without pay, on behalf of a charitable or other nonprofit organization, at least once in the 12-month reference period preceding the survey. This includes any unpaid help provided to schools, religious organizations, sports or community associations.

Volunteer rate
This is the percentage of a given population that performed a service without pay, on behalf of a charity or other nonprofit organization, at least once in the 12-month reference period preceding the survey.

---

Notes

1. The classification is based on L.M. Salamon and H.K. Anheier, 1997. Defining the Nonprofit Sector: A Cross-national Analysis. Manchester, N.Y.: Manchester University Press.