TORONTO -- The recession took a bite out of charitable donations in the past year, but Canadians expect to get back on the giving train in 2010, according to a new survey.

In a new Harris/Decima poll released by the Investor's Group on Monday, 29% of Canadians say they plan to donate more time to worthwhile causes in 2010, and 19% say they plan to increase the size of their donations.

Canadians contributed an average of 13 hours a month to volunteer work and donated $1,041 to non-profit organizations in 2009, according to the statistics released by the Investor's Group.

While financial contributions to charity were constrained by economic conditions in the past year (63% said they were not able to give as much as they wanted), the average estimated annual donation still compares well with Canadians' estimated spending on holiday gifts - $607 this year.

"In a year when demand has increased among non-profit organizations of all stripes, it's good to see Canadians are giving what they can, even if it's not as much as they would like," said Richard Irish, vice-president of community affairs for Investors Group. "Regardless of how much you give, it's the cumulative power of donations that makes a significant difference to those in need."

When it comes to methods of giving, 69% of Canadians would rather put in volunteer work than hand over a cheque, according to the survey results, but most tend to go with the money over the time anyway.

Of the respondents to the poll, 80% said they donated money this year compared to 52% who said they volunteered.

And charity, it appears, starts at home.

Local initiatives are the favourite choice among Canadians, with 89% indicating they usually volunteer locally and 82% saying they donate to local organizations and causes.

The Harris/Decima data was gathered between Dec. 1 and Dec. 14 2009 through a national online panel. The margin of error would be 3.1% 19 times out of 20.