Research confirms big drop in Irish giving
Howard Lake | 5 March 2014 | News
Overall charitable giving in Ireland has fallen from €130 per person per annum to €68 per person in the wake of the salary ‘top up’ controversy, according to research undertaken as part of a progress report on the One Percent Difference Campaign.
The National Giving Campaign, One Percent Difference, was launched in June 2013 to increase giving and volunteering in Ireland. The research on giving was carried out last December at the height of the top up controversy.
While Ireland has a high level of spontaneous giving, the two year programme delivered by the Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising (a joint philanthropic/government initiative) is seeking to address the relatively low levels of regular personal and corporate giving. The Forum also wants to create a more favourable environment for Irish charity fundraising and an increased understanding of the role and impact of not-for-profit sector in Ireland.
The progress report says the campaign has been successful in generating debate on giving in Ireland and over 650 charities and causes have partnered with the campaign. There has also been strong engagement with corporate Ireland, the report says.
The preliminary research suggests strong recall and awareness of the One Percent Difference brand which, the report says, will provide a strong platform to build on for the next phase of the campaign. Planning for this is currently underway.
The overall stated aim of the Forum is to increase the level of charitable giving from the current level of €500 million to €800 million by 2016. The government has committed to funding 50% of the cost of implementing the strategy and has already committed €2.49 million, according to the report.
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.