Strong desire among Londoners under-35 to give more money and time to charity, says City Philanthropy report
Howard Lake | 29 July 2015 | News
More than half of those aged 35 and under working full time in London want to donate more time, skills and money to charity, according to research commission by City Philanthropy.
According to the research, the younger the workers, the more they want to do in terms of volunteering and giving. The research, entitled More to Give: London Millennials Working Towards a Better World, reveals that:
• 53% of under-35s working full time in London want to volunteer more than they do
• 60% of those aged 18-24 age group feel the same
• but only 35% aged 55 and over share that aim
Over a third (34%) of young people under-35 want access to organisations that could match their skills and experience with an appropriate charity.
Charitable giving is the norm for London employees, with 80% of those surveyed saying that they give money to charity. In terms of donating more:
• 35% of respondents under-35 want to give more, whereas
• 20% of those over 35 want to give more
The report is based on a YouGov survey of over 1,000 full-time London workers aged 18 or over, plus existing studies. It is the first London-wide research on employee involvement and attitudes to giving and was carried out by the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy at Cass Business School.
Positive attitude to giving
The researchers found that many workers have a positive and enquiring attitude towards giving, recognising that it brings various benefits. For example:
· three-quarters of respondents agree giving back makes people happier
· over 60% say volunteering helps to develop job-related skills
· 31% of 18-24 year olds want more information on tax-efficient giving, compared with 17% for the sample as a whole.
There is some degree of openness to new methods of giving: 21% of under 35s are interested in alternative methods, such as social investment, rising to 29% amongst 18-24 year olds.
Influences on giving
Among Millennials (people aged under 35), friends were the greatest influence on giving and volunteering, followed by current and recent workplace schemes and initiatives.
The global economic crisis has also had an impact on attitudes to giving: 38% of under-35s say that it has made them think it is important to give something back.
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The report recommends that London’s employers create more workplace-based opportunities to give younger employees a route into more volunteering and giving and value it more explicitly as part of a work culture.
Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alan Yarrow commented on the findings, saying:
“Our young people want to use their wealth of talent, spirit and enthusiasm to help those less able to help themselves, but they also want to work for employers that share that ideal. I urge employers to be part of a working culture that promotes responsibility for the wider world – a working culture of which London can be proud.”
City Philanthropy’s Cheryl Chapman, added:
“With the pressures on London’s infrastructure growing daily, and a further era of spending cuts, this philanthropic impulse is a potential asset for the voluntary sector which we cannot afford to neglect. There is a prime opportunity for employers to harness ‘Millennial Power’ and encourage younger workers in citizenship, developing skills that benefit the wider world as well as their own careers.”
Report co-author, Cathy Pharoah put the findings in context:
“All the evidence indicates that giving has remained fairly flat for some years. The results of this research are exciting because they reveal significant new potential to increase the numbers of young people involved in giving and volunteering. It is within our reach to build a stronger base for future giving.”
You can download More to Give: London Millennials Working Towards a Better World in PDF.
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.