Toronto Star columnist Ellen Roseman kicks off a new Money 301 column by looking at how and why Canadians donate to charity.

An excerpt:

... We kick off our series with a statistical look at how much and where Canadians give to charity.

Our information comes from the national survey of giving, volunteering and participating, conducted by Statistics Canada in 2000 on behalf of a partnership of government departments. You can find results at http://www.givingandvolunteering.ca.

Another useful source is the Fraser Institute's generosity index, published each year. The Vancouver-based think tank uses readily available data about charitable donations recorded on personal income tax returns. (See http://www.fraserinstitute.ca.)

How many Canadians donate to charity? Quite a high percentage (91 per cent), according to the national survey of giving.

Of these donations, 78 per cent are direct financial gifts. When it comes to other gifts, 69 per cent of Canadians donate clothing or goods, 54 per cent give food and 4 per cent make a bequest.

Much comes from the few. About 25 per cent of donors account for 82 per cent of the dollar value of all donations.

Where does the money go? Religious organizations take almost half the donations, health organizations receive 20 per cent and social service organizations 10 per cent.

The average annual donation rises steadily with education. It ranges from $152 among those with less than a high school diploma to $480 among those with a university degree.