Irish research reports drop in charitable income

Howard Lake | 10 June 2013 | News

The latest research into the level of charitable giving in Ireland shows a fall in corporate and private donations.

According to the research by Fundraising Ireland, corporate donations fell by 27% while public donations were down just over 4%. The research is based on a survey of 26 organisations during the 2012 Christmas period, most of which appear to be development charities.

A few weeks ago, research by Business in the Community (BITC) showed an increase in corporate support last year. The difference may be down to the types of charities asked, with the BITC research more focused on charities working in Ireland.

The figures showed a decline of about 11% in the numbers of corporate donors giving to charities which represented a 27% decrease in financial terms, from €1.7 million in 2011 to €1.2 million in 2012.

The research shows that there were nearly 300,000 general public donors during the Christmas 2012 period, constituting a 4.3% decline in numbers overall from 2011.  The decline in Christmas income, which totalled just over €9 million, was under 1%, indicating that people who continue to be able to donate are doing so generously, according to the research.

Fundraising Ireland CEO Anne Hanniffy said: "Charities and Fundraising Ireland fully understands how tough the economic climate is for businesses.   Even taking this into account, however, we are concerned about the size of the drop in corporate donations over the past year, particularly when compared to the smaller drop in general public donations."

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.