It’s long been joked that B.C. stands for “bring cash” instead of British Columbia. But a new annual report from GoFundMe suggests British Columbia should instead be known for giving cash.
Four of the top five most giving cities in Canada are in B.C. according to the 2021 Year in Giving report. North Vancouver came in at number one, followed by Vancouver in third, Kamloops in fourth and Kelowna in fifth. Burlington Ontario is the only city outside of B.C. to crack the top five, coming in at second.
READ MORE: Victoria, Kelowna top most generous cities in Canada: GoFundMe
There were plenty of worthy causes to donate to this year as B.C. battled floods, fires and COVID-19. Over $1 million was raised after the Village of Lytton burned to the ground and more than $1.5 million was raised to help recover fr0om devasting floods across the province.
British Columbians were also impacted by issues outside the environment. After Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation revealed the unmarked graves of 215 children, over $157,00 was raised for work to investigate former residential school sites on Vancouver Island. Nearly $350,000 was raised to support the families of the deadly crane collapse in Kelowna that killed five workers.
READ MORE: Fundraiser to search Vancouver Island’s residential schools tops $100,000
READ MORE: 5th victim from Kelowna crane collapse identified
“As the world navigated its second pandemic year, experienced new humanitarian crises, broke boundaries for BIPOC communities and fought to survive the catastrophic effects of natural disasters, people’s willingness to help others continued to shine through even the darkest times. In fact, this year, 1 donation was made every second across the globe to people who needed it most,” GoFundMe spokesperson Amy Williams said.
Canada’s top 10 most giving cities include:
1. North Vancouver
2. Burlington
3. Vancouver
4. Kamloops
5. Kelowna
6. New Westminster
7. Brampton
8. Belleville
9. Victoria
10 Guelph
@SchislerCole
cole.schisler@bpdigital.ca
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