Carleton U. aims to put Canada on philanthropic map with research centre

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For the eleventh consecutive year, the number of Canadians making charitable donations has declined, according to CanadaHelps, the charity that facilitates online donation and fundraising. Among the factors at work, experts say, are generational and demographic evolution of the population.

Charities might fare better if they had more data about what motivates donors today. But Canada is the only G7 country without a research facility dedicated to philanthropy, says Susan Phillips, a professor of philanthropy and nonprofit leadership at Ottawa’s Carleton University.

Phillips is working with colleagues and advisors at the university to establish a Centre for Philanthropy. Carleton is already home to Canada’s only graduate degree program in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, and Phillips, who led the creation of that program, says the university is often asked to carry out applied research projects in the field, and it has to turn down many opportunities.

“It became clear very early on that we needed to expand the work of the graduate program in order to better support philanthropy and charities,” she says.

Carleton is seeking a visionary donor to provide $35 million to set up its Centre for Philanthropy, beginning with the establishment of a Chair in Philanthropy.

“So far, three philanthropists have come forward with $500,000, saying we want to build this in a collaborative way, because that sends a message to other philanthropists to say we want to come together and support the work of philanthropy, to make it more impactful,” Phillips says, adding that she hopes the chair position will be filled by mid-2025.

There are about 50 philanthropic research institutions in the United States, of which the largest is the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, as well as a network of similar facilities in the U.K., Europe and Australia.

In comparison, “Canada hasn’t fully appreciated the complexity, the professionalization that is part of philanthropy, whether you’re talking of family offices, foundations, their advisors, the people in government who support the sector or the charities and non-profits that are facing unprecedented demand,” says Phillips.

“There are so many opportunities and challenges for the sector. The Centre for Philanthropy could provide some of that tailored research that is useful to all of those stakeholders, the professional training and development, critical conversations and thought leadership.”

A strong supporter of the centre is Jean-Marc Mangin, president of Philanthropic Foundations Canada (PFC), a Montreal-based network of private and public foundations across the country that together represents about half the $120 billion in assets held in the sector. “It’s badly needed,” he says.

The centre would “give us insights into who is giving, why they give, where the funds are going and what the blind spots are, to help build a narrative of the Canadian philanthropic sector,” says Mangin.

“Right now, we have only the American story. Any other feature of our society has a research centre of some kind, and that we don’t have one in Canada is a big gap,” he says.

He points out important transformations in philanthropy, such as the growing presence of new Canadians and the emergence of Black-led philanthropy. “But we have very little insight. We have a loose network of researchers, but we don’t have a centre; we don’t have a home to bridge the gap between research and practice and to influence public policy based on evidence.”

Pointing out that “demand is higher than ever,” Phillips says we have reached a critical time for Canadian philanthropy, when research will be urgently needed to help organizations make the most of every dollar.

Among the numerous international examples of this type of work in action are the Lilly School’s Women’s Philanthropy Institute and Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, which both elucidate how and why certain segments of the population are motivated to give. Research on high-net-worth donors from the Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent in the U.K. is of interest not only to charities but to other donors. The Geneva Centre for Philanthropy in Switzerland runs a retreat for foundation leaders that disseminates knowledge backed by research.

Carleton’s research includes the 2020 report Unfunded: Black Communities Overlooked by Canadian Philanthropy for the Network for the Advancement of Black Communities, which found that Black organizations receive as little as 7 cents for every $100 donated to Canada’s big charities.

Mangin says that for longstanding or new donors, Carleton’s Centre for Philanthropy presents an opportunity “to really have a chance to have an impact on the ecosystem. The fact that we don’t have such a centre in Canada really leaves a gap,” he says.

“Without that pillar, we’ll never be able to achieve some of the objectives we have as a community.”

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