Research published by Voluntas, the journal of the International Society of Third Sector Research (ISTR), suggests the presence of visible minority individuals reduces the giving of the majority population.

The study, conducted by Benic Amankwaa and Rose Anne Devlin from the University of Ottawa, gathered its data from surveys in Canada which collect data on the giving behaviour of the Canadian population. The study considered visible minorities to be any ‘persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour,’ while the majority population was composed of ‘whites.’

According to the study, the more heterogeneous a community is, the more individuals withdraw into themselves and decrease their charitable giving. A 10 per cent increase in the presence of visible minorities in the community leads to a 1 per cent drop in the probability of giving.

The study additionally looked at the behaviour of majority population individuals who give to international charities and found that, contrary to the overall decrease in giving, the presence of minorities increases the likelihood of international giving. As the proportion of minorities in a community increases by 10 per cent, the probability of giving to an international charity increase by 8 per cent.

For the full study, see here.