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How can we increase giving to charities?We want to hear your
ideas too this is your chance toanswer questionson the future of
giving in
the voluntary sector.
What are the biggest challenges?Giving in the UK has remained
stagnant over the past few years at a time when there is
growing
pressure on the voluntary sector. According to the UK Giving
Report 2012 the proportion of
adults giving to charity in a typical month was 55% in 2011/12.
This compares with an average of
56.3% since the first report was published in 2004/05.
The amount of Gift Aid repayments which charities have received
from government has also
remained at around 1bn since 2009-10 indicating that donations
have not grown.
The average amount that people give per month has also remained
the same, with the median
donation remaining at around 10 since 2004/05. This is despite
inflation eroding the value of
this gift and indicating the difficulty of encouraging existing
donors to increase their contributions.
Another challenge is the narrowing of the UK donor base; with
the sector becoming more
dependent on a smaller number of older donors. More than half of
all donations to charity (52%)
now come from the over-60s, compared to just over one-third
(35%) thirty years ago, accordingto research by the Charities Aid
Foundation.
Donations from the private sector have also not grown
substantially over the past decade with
voluntary income from businesses averaging at around 840m per
year.
While the financial crisis and recession has had a negative
impact upon giving in the UK, putting
pressure on household budgets and company balance sheets, many
of the challenges outlined
above pre-date the downturn and are not likely to disappear with
a return to more robust
economic growth. This indicates that these issues are deep
rooted and unlikely to go away without
sustained effort.
How has the voluntary sector risen to thechallenge so far?In
order to increase the amount that people give, charities have
deployed a number of strategies
to attract donations. Many have involved using technology to
make it faster and easier for people
to give.
For example, fundraising platformJustGiving.comhas raised over
1.5bn for charities since its
launch and Virgin Money has raised over 200m since 2009.
Charities have also run innovative
http://www.ncvo.org.uk/members-area/policy/ncvo-member-consultation/support-for-charities/givinghttp://www.ncvo.org.uk/members-area/policy/ncvo-member-consultation/support-for-charities/givinghttp://www.ncvo.org.uk/members-area/policy/ncvo-member-consultation/support-for-charities/givinghttp://www.justgiving.com/http://www.justgiving.com/http://www.justgiving.com/http://www.justgiving.com/http://www.ncvo.org.uk/members-area/policy/ncvo-member-consultation/support-for-charities/giving
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campaigns to attract sponsorship. Movember, a campaign where men
promise not to shave in
November, raised 27m in 2012 and over 90m around the world for a
variety of charities.
Around 1 in 10 people donated to charity through an online
sponsorship platform for some of
their donations in 2011/12.
The Pennies Foundationis also an example of giving responding to
changing behaviour. An
increasing number of items are purchased via Chip and Pin card
readers. The Pennies Foundations
works with retailers to enable customers to donate to a
nominated charity when they make their
purchase. Since it was launched in November 2010, over 1.5m has
been raised for charity and
over 6m donations have been made.
Charities have also sought to develop new products in order to
demonstrate the effectiveness of
donations. For example, Oxfam has sold over 1m charity gifts
including toilets, trees, water
pumps and school books to the general public, raising millions
of pounds for their work and
connecting with new generations of donors.
Whats the potential for the future?Improvements in the economy
should hopefully feed through into giving, providing a far
better
environment for the voluntary sector to encouraging giving from
individuals and from businesses.
Although there have been increases in digital giving over the
past few years, traditional methods
still remain the most effective. Giving by cash is still the
most common method, used by half of all
donors in 2011/12 a figure which has remained stable since the
first UK Giving Report in2004/05. While the movement towards a
cashless economy may change giving methods, it is
likely that traditional forms of fundraising; raffles, buying
products and attending events will
remain significant sources of voluntary income for the
sector.
The government is also considering reforms to Gift Aid to make
it easier for donors to take part in
the scheme. The number of charities claiming Gift Aid in 2012/13
was only 63,000 out of
120,000 eligible charities. Simplification to the Gift Aid
Declaration form could increase claims and
generate additional income for charities. There is also
discussion about a greater role for
intermediaries (banks, mobile phone operators and fundraising
websites) and the role that they
can play in Gift Aid. However, this raises questions about how
we ensure that alongside any
change, voluntary organisations retain the link between donor
and recipient so that they cancontinue to build relationships with
their donors.
An aging giving population means that the sector has to take
steps to encourage younger people
to step up and become donors. One response may be to integrate
discussions around giving and
charity into education. Alternatively, use of social media and
other communication tools may
provide ways to attract interest. Broadening the giving base
will be a key challenge for the
voluntary sector.
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