# Britons prefer charity donation to unwanted Christmas present

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/11/19/britons-prefer-charity-donation-unwanted-christmas-present/
- Published: 2008-11-19T05:37:26+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

A survey for Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has found that nearly two-thirds of 
Britons would prefer a donation to charity rather than an unwanted Christmas present.

CAF’s research showed that 54% of the UK adult population received unwanted Christmas
presents in 2007, and that 65% would rather receive one less gift and a donation
made to charity instead. Nearly a fifth (18 percent) received a charity donation
on their behalf instead of a Christmas present in 2007.

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![CAF's Pants Presents Appeal 2008](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/u11/caf_panstspresent_200811_300x250.
gif "CAF's Pants Presents Appeal 2008")

Chocolates (27%), soaps or perfume (21%), books (17%) and DVDs (16%) topped the 
list of unwanted Christmas presents in 2007.

Following this research CAF is launching the "Pants Presents appeal" to encourage
people to say no to ‘pants’ presents this Christmas and for friends and family to
donate to charity instead.

From the appeal’s website, users can send an email to their friends and family asking
them to give to charity instead of giving them a present. A dedicated Facebook page
featuring the campaign will also be created.

Both website and Facebook page allow users to search over 170,000 charities for 
causes that matter to themselves, their friends or family. Users will be able to
make payments to them directly via credit and debit cards or from CAF Charity and
Trust Accounts.

Charities who work with CAF will receive a free campaign pack. This could serve 
as a [do-it-yourself Christmas fundraising campaign](http://www.pantspresents.org/get-the-toolkit.php)
for charities on very limited budgets.

The decision of what to do with any unwanted presents that are still received will
be tackled in a post-campaign email. Last year, donating to charity shops was the
most popular outlet for unwanted presents (37%), ahead of giving to family or friends(
34%) and selling the unwanted presents on eBay (7%).

Shelia Hooper, Marketing Director at CAF, said: "We recognise that charities are
facing a potential shortfall in funds . With the Pants Presents campaign, CAF is
helping charities launch a Christmas fundraising drive at no cost to them. For many
small and medium sized charities this may provide a financial boost in what are 
tough economic conditions."

The research was conducted for CAF by GfK NOP via telephone between 26-28 September
2008 amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,002 UK adults aged 16+.

www.pantspresents.org

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