Volunteering And Charitable Giving
Charity Begins At Home - And At Christmas
Charity Begins At Home - And At Christmas
Nine out of ten British adults give to charity, far higher than the pattern across Europe*. Four out of ten are more likely to give money at Christmas. These findings are from a new Nestlй Family Monitor study into 'Charitable Giving and Volunteering'.
The study showed that 92% contributed to at least one charity over the past year. Amongst people who carry out voluntary work the figure rose to 97% giving an average of over 163250.
The profile of the charitable giver is of a woman, aged over 34, in social class AB. The likelihood of charitable giving increases further if the woman is married and retired.
Q Which, if any, of the following things have you done to support a charity financially in the last 12 months?
| Contributed to at least 1 charity | Contributed to at least 3 charities | Contributed to at least 5 charities | Have not contributed to charity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base: All adults (504) | % | % | % | % |
| Total | 92 | 67 | 36 | 7 |
| Men | 89 | 61 | 30 | 11 |
| Women | 96 | 73 | 41 | 4 |
| 16-24 | 82 | 51 | 15 | 18 |
| 25-34 | 89 | 61 | 33 | 10 |
| 35-54 | 96 | 74 | 46 | 4 |
| 55+ | 96 | 72 | 37 | 4 |
| AB | 100 | 88 | 53 | - |
| C1 | 91 | 69 | 44 | 8 |
| C2 | 95 | 59 | 31 | 5 |
| DE | 86 | 58 | 20 | 14 |
| Volunteer | 97 | 78 | 46 | 3 |
| Do not participate in voluntary work | 90 | 59 | 28 | 10 |
The results should please the Government which recently launched a campaign, led by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Charities Aid Foundation, aimed at boosting charitable giving. 'Judging from the findings of this research, the initiative will fall on fertile ground,' commented Nestlй UK Chairman, Peter Blackburn.
When asked whether they thought Britons were 'more likely to help charities than people in other Western countries' 40% answered 'yes' and 17% 'no'. This perception confirms the reality according to an earlier study by MORI conducted across Europe.
Substantial numbers give over 1631000
The majority of those who have donated money to charity say they have donated less than 163100 over the last year. Nevertheless, the presence of a number of substantial donors, 2% (representing around 750,000 people) say they have donated 1631,000 or more, draws the overall average up to 163165. ABs on average donate 163366 and C1s 163176. This compares with a DE average of around 16346. It should be borne in mind though that the public tends to over estimate the amount they have donated when asked questions such as this.
Not only are volunteers more likely to give money to charity, but they give more - the average volunteer donated over 163250 to charity over the past year compared to an average donation of under 16390 for those who do not volunteer.
Volunteering is a family habit
The country is more or less divided in half between households that undertake voluntary work and those that do not. In 53% of households at least one member undertook some voluntary work, however minor.
The influence of the family on whether a person does voluntary work is profound. When asked how they personally first became involved in voluntary work, the biggest influence was family and friends. Their influence is more powerful than clubs, the media or the charities themselves.
Among children, family and friends remain important, but the most powerful influence is the school. 50% of those children who do voluntary work first became involved through the school. The church introduced 14% of both adults and child volunteers to their first involvement.
MORI interviewed 504 adults, a nationally representative sample, between 23 September and 8 October, for the Nestlй Family Monitor. A full copy of the report is available free from Corporate Affairs, Nestlй UK, St George's House, Croydon CR9 1NR or via the Web site: www.nestlefamilymonitor.co.uk
* The European figures come from a separate multi-country study conducted in 1996/1997 by MORI on behalf of UNFPA. This found (using a different question) that the British public is more likely to donate money to charity than its European counterparts. At that time, four in five (80%) of people living in Great Britain said specifically that they had made a donation to charity over the last 2-3 years. This compared to a European average of 59%.
Technical details
The Nestlй Family Monitor is a series of research studies into family life in Britain undertaken on behalf of Nestlй UK by MORI.
