DAFs enabled Canadians keep giving amid economic uncertainty, directing over $123M to charities in 2025, Charitable Impact Reveals
Fundraising efforts led by grassroot communities stood out as a way more people took part in giving this year
VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Charitable Impact, Canada’s most accessible donor-advised fund, has released its 2025 Year-in-Review report, revealing how Canadians continued to support different causes and charities even as economic uncertainty shaped when and how they chose to give.
In 2025, Canadians donated nearly $188 million into their donor-advised funds (DAFs), called Impact Accounts at Charitable Impact, and directed more than $123 million of those dollars to charities across the country. An Impact Account gives donors a simple way to separate the moment they make a charitable donation from the moment they decide where that money should be allocated. People can contribute money to their Impact Account, receive an immediate tax receipt, and then take their time deciding which causes and charities to support.
While total new contributions into Impact Accounts declined compared to the previous year, the amount flowing out to charities increased. The drop in donations is the result of fewer mega-donations being made. Rather than signalling a decrease in generosity, the data shows donors continuing to give by drawing on funds they had already set aside for charitable use, allowing these charitable dollars to move into communities despite a year marked by rising costs and broader uncertainty.
What stands out is the role flexibility played in sustaining generosity. By having charitable funds ready when needed, donors were able to continue giving, responding to societal needs as they saw fit.
“This is exactly how donor-advised giving is meant to work,” said John Bromley, Founder and CEO of Charitable Impact. “People don’t have to decide everything at once. An Impact Account allows them to set money aside when it makes sense and then take their time deciding how to best utilize those charitable dollars. What we saw this year was people actively using those funds, giving more often and responding to causes when it felt right.”
Most charitable dollars on Charitable Impact continued to be granted by individuals and companies using their Impact Accounts to send funds to the charities they wanted to support. At the same time, a growing number of donors stepped into a more public, community-led role by inviting others to give alongside them through crowdfunding pages on the platform, known as Giving Groups and Campaigns. These are donor-created fundraising pages that allow individuals to rally friends, family, and networks around causes that matter to them, whether that’s supporting a local school, responding to a community need, or honouring someone’s life or legacy. Over the course of the year, donors created more than 4,000 of these fundraisers, nearly 50% more than the year before, raising over $11 million and directing $7.3 million to charities.
“At Charitable Impact, our role is to help people follow through on the generosity they want to express,” said Bromley. “Whether someone wants to give quietly on their own or with others, we’re here to provide them with the tools and support they need to take action on behalf of whatever causes or charities they care about and want to support. Generosity goes further when those carrying it out are supported.”
While many people intend to give back, they often wait for a reason or an invitation to act. The surge in Giving Groups and Campaigns shows more donors stepping into a leadership role by creating clear opportunities for others to participate and inviting them to do so. This demonstrates how generosity, fostered by individuals taking action, naturally spreads through social circles, workplaces, and other communities. In a year when personal finances felt stretched for many, donors found ways to amplify their impact by giving together, contributing not just money, but time, energy, and social connection. “Generosity grows when someone takes initiative to start something that other people can rally around with them,” Bromley said. “We’re seeing more Canadians use our crowdfunding tools to raise money for any charitable cause, charity or charities of their choice while also creating opportunities for their families, friends, and communities to give together. Community and social-networked fundraising is very powerful. One or two people taking the initiative to start fundraising create simple ways for others to participate and make giving a part of their lives as well. Communities know what they need. We give them the tool set to get it done.”
The Year‑in‑Review report also revealed a notable reordering of the causes Canadians supported through Charitable Impact. Education became the most supported cause on the platform this year. Community‑focused causes, including community groups, community-based infrastructure, and civic and legal programs, experienced one of the biggest year-over-year increases, rising from fifth place last year to the second most supported category. Health returned to the top five after dropping out in 2024, while international causes did not appear among the top categories this year.
Alongside these shifts in donor behaviour, many donors used their Impact Account to give charitable dollars to friends, who could then distribute them as they saw fit. We observed families adopting this strategy as a means to help the youth in their lives learn about giving by experiencing it, which was facilitated by the launch of the Charitable Allowance Program (CAP) earlier in the year. Charitable Impact also expanded its suite of Cause Funds - pooled giving opportunities where donors can combine their resources with those of others and entrust them to expert Cause Leaders, who direct the funds to Canadian charities making the most significant difference. The newly launched funds included the Food Security Fund, Recovery Ecosystem, and Operation Overcome, providing donors with curated opportunities to support causes such as childhood hunger, addiction recovery, and mental health, without the complexity of trying to find individual organizations to support.
The year-end data also offered a snapshot of where generosity showed up most strongly across the country. British Columbia led all provinces in charitable gifting through the platform in 2025, with Langley emerging as the most generous city, followed closely by Vancouver, Etobicoke, Calgary, and Toronto. Together, these communities reflect the local, people-powered nature of giving that defined the year.
Data Footnote
Charitable Impact notes that its Year-in-Review data reflects the giving behaviour of Impact Account users only, not the full charitable population across Canada. All data presented in this Year in Review was collected from December 1, 2024, to November 30, 2025, and is not representative of the full 2025 calendar year.
ABOUT CHARITABLE IMPACT:
Charitable Impact is a modern giving platform that helps Canadians engage more personally and intentionally with charitable giving. Operating as a donor-advised fund, it offers flexible tools and support for people to plan their giving, support the causes that matter to them, and collaborate with others to grow their collective impact. Whether giving individually or through communities, users can explore, organize, and amplify their generosity—all in one place. Since 2011, our community of 213,000+ users has donated more than 1.6 billion dollars, with over 15,000+ registered charities benefiting from the generosity of people across Canada. Learn more at https://www.charitableimpact.com/
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Bunmi Ariwoola Charitable Impact media@charitableimpact.com
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