Document Type
Journal Article
RIS ID
28012
Citation
Basil, Debra Z., 2007, Charitable Donations as a Reflection of National Values: A Comparison of Canada and the United States, Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing, 18(1), 1-19.
http://ro.uow.edu.au/era/677
Abstract
This article examines whether differences in national values in Canada and the United States are reflected in charitable donations for those countries. It is proposed that the United States is more individualistic, and Canada is more collectivistic. Education is used as a proxy for individualistic causes, and health care as a proxy for collectivist causes. An examination of secondary data supports the proposed hypotheses. Results suggest that charitable donations reflect national values. Results also support Lipset’s hypothesis that Americans are more individualistic than Canadians. Canadians demonstrate a tendency toward equality of result whereas Americans demonstrate a tendency toward equality of opportunity. As this work is exploratory, avenues for future research are outlined.