I'm Confused by Kelly Hill & Statistics Canada

Howdy!

Yesterday Hill Strategies Researchpublished a press release that got picked up by the Globe & Mail. It stated rather simply that '732,000 Canadians 15 years of age or older made financial donations worth a total of $188 million to arts and culture organizations in 2004.' Or if you prefer 'on average, a donation of $257 per arts and culture donor.'

Back at the beginning of the month, Statistcis Canada released figures that said 'Canadian households spent an average of $1,450 on culture goods and services in 2004.' Which if we do some quick and easy division would mean that there are 5.6 people over the age of 15 in every household. Or in plain English something doesn't compute.

Or maybe Kelly Hill just added the $233 that each household spent on admission to live performing arts in 2004 with the $121 spent by each household on admission to museums and other venues in 2004? That would then mean that there are 1.4 people over the age of 15 in every household.

Or maybe they took the median amount donated by Canadians to charity (after all an arts an culture organization is likely to be a charity) which is $240, a figure conveneniently released today - awww never mind.

-Break while I actually go and read the fine print on the methodology used by Kelly Hill.-

Oh, I see, said the blind man, they used figures released by Statistics Canada last July which state that the roughly 33 million Canadians spent $213 million on admission to heritage institutions, $15 million on memberships in heritage institutions, gave $114 million in private sector support to heritage institutions and somehow gave $189 million worth of other types of revenues to heritage institutions, for a total of $531 million. If that was the case then there are 16 people in every household...

Hmmm, is there anybody out there who can help me. Good thing they are coming to town on November 29, in a worst case scenario, I can ask them myself.