One third of Christmas appeals outperformed previous year, says CAF
Howard Lake | 13 January 2009 | News
An online poll of 35 charities by the Institute of Fundraising and the Charities Aid Foundation has found that 29% of charities said that their 2008 Christmas appeals raised more than their appeal in 2007.
Over half (58%) reported that their Christmas appeal had raised as much or more than the previous year. For example, Shelter hit its seasonal fundraising target, and SPEAR, a small West London charity that coaches unemployed young people to help them get into work or back into education, raised £120,000 at their Christmas event, about £5,000 more than last year.
The charities that responded to the survey included the British Red Cross, Cancer Research UK, Christian Aid, and the Salvation Army.
One third (34%) of charities that responded said they had received fewer funds.
The results of these appeals matter because 37% of charities in the survey said that they are either already facing or expect an increase in demand for their services as a result of the economic downturn.
Lindsay Boswell, Chief Executive at the Institute of Fundraising said: “This is great news as before Christmas many charities were worried that they would see a fall in donations. Those charities who had successful campaigns will be celebrating as this will help them to help more people”.
The survey of charities was carried out online between 18 December 2008 and 6 January 2009.
www.cafonline.org
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.