Most people have a deep need to feel they belong: to a culture, to a community, to a cause. Communities are stronger when citizens put their energies toward civic responsibility, respect for others, social well-being and volunteerism.

• Federal Election Voter Turnout
• The Volunteer Rate
• Community Newspaper Circulation
• The Number of Charities
• The Number of Charitable Tax Filers
• Median Charitable Donations
• Other

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, references to "Kitchener" refer to the Kitchener Census Metropolitan Area (CMA).

Federal Election Voter Turnout

Source: Elections Canada, Official Voting Results 2000, Thirty-eighth General election Table 11: Voting Results by Electoral District, Thirty-ninth general election Table 11:Voting Results by Electoral District retrieved from www.elections.ca; Wikipedia electoral riding placements

Voter turnout for the 2006 Federal Election in Kitchener was 66.8 per cent. This turnout is 2.1 percentage points higher than the national average (64.7 per cent) and 0.2 percentage points lower than the provincial average (66.6 per cent).

National Comparisons (PDF)

• Table X-3: Percentage Voter Turnout for 2000, 2004, 2006 Federal Elections for Vital Signs CMAs and CAs
• ppendix Table X-2-a: Percentage Voter Turnout For Vital Signs Communities, 2000, 2004, 2006 Federal Elections

The Volunteer Rate

Definition of Volunteer: proportion of Canadians aged 15 and older engaged in unpaid activities as part of a group or organization(Canada's National Survey of Giving Volunteering and Participating)

Source: Canadian Council on Learning, 2006 , based on Statistics Canada, National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. Special Request http://www.ccl-cca.ca/CCL/Reports/CLI2007?Language=EN

In 2000 the volunteer rate of people 15 years and older in Kitchener was 27.1 per cent. This compares as being slightly above both the national and Ontario provincial rate of volunteering, which were 27.0 and 25.0 respectively.

Source: Statistics Canada. Census 1996 and 2001, Community Profiles.

National Comparisons (PDF)

• Table X-2: Volunteer Rate for Vital Signs, 2000 and 2004
• Appendix Table X-2: The Number of Volunteers and the Volunteer Ratio for the Provinces of Vital Signs Communities and the Annual Average and Median Hours the Volunteers Volunteer, 2004
• Appendix Table X-2-b: The Number of Volunteers and the Volunteer Ratio for the Provinces of Vital Signs Communities and the Annual Average and Median Hours the Volunteers Volunteer, 2004
• Appendix Table X-3-i: Volunteer Rate based on Persons Reporting Hours of Unpaid Care or Assistance to Seniors, 1996 and 2001

Community Newspaper Circulation

Community Newspaper Circulation, 2006

Waterloo Region 99,148

Source: Ontario Community Newspapers Association, http://www.ocna.org/index.html

The Number of Charities

Number of Charities (per 10,000 residents), 2006

Waterloo Region 20.6

Source: CRA, http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/sec/SrchLogin-e?login=true&searchType=Registered

The Number of Charitable Tax Filers

Source: Statistics Canada Table 111-0001, series v745953, v745954, v746148, v746149, v746161, v746162, v746174, v746175, v746239, v746240, v746265, v746266, v746304, v746305, v746330, v746331, v746369, v746370, v746278, v746279, v746434, v746435, v746460, v746461, v745966, v745967, v745979, v745980, v746005, v746006, v746018, v746019, v746031, v746032.

With the proportion of tax filers that declare charitable donations at 29 per cent in 2005, Kitchener had 118 per cent of the national rate and 108 per cent of the provincial rate. The rate was down 6 per cent from 1997.

Charitable Donors as a Proportion of Tax Filers, 2005

Waterloo Region 29.4 %

Source: Statistics Canada Table 111-0001

National Comparisons (PDF)

• Table X-1: Charitable Donors as a Proportion of Tax Filers for Vital Signs Communities, 1997-2005
• Appendix Table X-1-a: Charitable Giving in Vital Signs Communities from the Canadian Council on Learning, 2003 and 2005
• Appendix Table X-1-b: Charitable Donor Rate by Province (%), 2004

Median Charitable Donations

Note: Donations based on the amount declared on line 340 of the income tax form.

Source: Statistics Canada, Table 111-0001 series v745963, v746158, v746171, v746184, v746249, v746275, v746314, v746340, v746379, v746288, v746444, v746470, v745976, v745989, v746015, v746028, v746041.

With the median charitable donations of donors amounting to $290 in 2005, Kitchener had donations that were 121 per cent of the national average and 97 per cent of the provincial average. Median donations have increased 38 per cent since 1997, the first year for which data are available.

National Comparisons (PDF)

• Table X-4: Median Charitable Donations for Donors in Vital Signs Communities, 1997-2005
• Appendix Table X-4: Average and Median Donations of Donors in the Provinces of Vital Signs Communities, 2004

Other

Per Capita United Way Donations (2005)

Waterloo Region $15.78

Source: United Way of Canada
http://www1.unitedway.ca/sites/PortalEN/PublicSite/Research%20and%20Statistics/CampaignResults_2005_Brochure_1.pdf

National Comparisons (PDF)

• Table X-5: Community Organizations Membership for Vital Signs CMAs and Economic Regions, 2003
• Table X-6: Female City Councilors as a Per Cent of All City Councilors in Selected Vital Signs CMAs, 2003
• Appendix Table X-5-i: Social, Political, Economic and Overall Rankings of Vital Signs Communities, 2000
• Appendix Table X-5-ii: Political Legitimacy, Political Participation, Economic Inclusion and Equality, Social Belonging and Recognition, 2003