Canadian boomers are turning their efforts to helping others. November 15 marks National Philanthropy Day and BMO Financial Group’s ongoing research on charitable giving and volunteering confirms that Canadians are becoming more charitable with age.

When BMO started looking into what boomers were planning to do in retirement in October 2005, it found that 16% were expecting to spend “a great deal of time” in retirement doing non-profit and charitable work and 72% said they expected to spend “some time” doing it. And the likelihood of spending “a great deal of time” doing charitable work increased with age.

When boomers were asked in a December 2006 survey to rank a list of activities that would most appeal to them at age 62, almost half (49%) of respondents ranked volunteering as a first or second choice.

BMO’s most recent research indicates that, currently, a third (34%) of Canadians aged 45 to 60 volunteer and a further 38% of boomers who do not volunteer intend to do so when they retire.

Community-based charities are the largest beneficiary of boomer goodwill, with seven out of 10 of these volunteers dedicating their time to local organizations. Health and Wellness (27%) and Social Services (30%) were identified as the most common areas of commitment.