Tuesday I give | Generous, Quebeckers?

Since 2012, a planetary movement invites the population to make a donation, in time or money, a few weeks before Christmas on the occasion of the Tuesday I give. As we approach this day, which is being held this year on Tuesday, November 30, Press wondered how the generosity of Quebecers is manifested. Portrait.

Véronique Larocque
Press

Present in times of crisis

“A great strength that we have is to mobilize in an emergency,” replied Daniel H. Lanteigne, president of the Association of Professional Philanthropists, when asked if the Quebecers are generous. The Saguenay flood, the ice storm, the Lac-Mégantic disaster: as soon as a crisis arises, Quebecers quickly respond. The pandemic has also shed light on this characteristic. “Very early on, donations went to food banks, to causes that support people experiencing homelessness,” says the philanthropy consultant. “We went from 50% of Quebecers who gave to 75% during the pandemic,” said Christophe Leduc, communications manager for the Mallet Institute, an organization whose mission is the advancement of philanthropic culture.

More and more donors

Even before the pandemic, the number of donors was increasing. “Among the slightly younger generations, there is a lot to give. […] They are very committed and want to contribute to change. They want to make our society a better society, ”notes Daniel H. Lanteigne. Their average donation, however, is lower than that of older people.

“Philanthropists who ignore each other”

Despite everything, the financial donation remains lower in Quebec than elsewhere in Canada. The role of the state in Quebec society is one of the aspects that explains this difference, notes Christophe Leduc. “Quebeckers are fairly generous in terms of time and goods,” he adds, two ways of giving that are more difficult to calculate. “If you ask someone, ‘Are you a philanthropist? Did you donate time during the pandemic? ”, He will probably say no, even though he went shopping for his neighbor who, at 75, could not go out. […] We characterized that a few years ago by saying that Quebecers are philanthropists who ignore each other. ”

More generous women

“Feminine philanthropy is taking more and more place”, indicates, for his part, Jean M. Gagné, president of the Mallet Institute. The contribution of women to the field of philanthropy has been increasing steadily for the past 15 years, he says, in particular because of their growing presence in the business community. The generosity of women was confirmed in the most recent survey by the Mallet Institute, carried out during the pandemic. Among respondents, 58% of women said they had donated money, compared to 49% of men. “We really see a trend that is accelerating and strengthening,” notes Christophe Leduc.

New kind of volunteering

“Volunteering has redefined itself a lot in recent years,” says Daniel H. Lanteigne. One of the reasons for this is that organizations did not want to put their older volunteers at risk during the pandemic. As with telecommuting, some volunteers have started doing chores from home. “There is also the whole notion of expert volunteering,” he explains. As much as it takes people who go to Moisson Montreal to sort food, an organization will be happy that a computer graphic designer donates a few hours of his time. […] Volunteering has become a bit professional. “

Quebecers’ favorite causes

What causes do Quebecers support the most? “Childhood, the elderly and people with disabilities remain the three main causes in Quebec, according to the latest studies,” says Daniel H. Lanteigne. “Poverty, health and assistance to the underprivileged are important and will always remain so,” replies Jean M. Gagné, whose organization is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Causes that affect inequality are growing in popularity, the two men note. The situation of indigenous peoples or the LGBTQ + community is one of these causes. “Philanthropy, for it to be relevant, must be in tune with one’s society. This can be seen in the evolution of the causes supported ”, he concludes.

Generosity comes to the museum

From money donation to organ donation, altruistic acts take many forms. In the exhibition Generosity – Straight to the heart, visitors are invited to reflect on their own relationship to mutual aid, volunteering and civic engagement. More than 230 objects form the corpus of this exhibition, where many stories and testimonies are presented.

Generosity – Straight to the heart, at the Musée de la civilization de Québec, until October 2022

Consult the site of the Musée de la civilization