Community Life Survey shows volunteering & giving levels remain stable
Melanie May | 29 July 2016 | News
Volunteering and giving levels remain stable according to The Cabinet Office’s annual Community Life 2015/16 survey.
The survey is commissioned by the Cabinet Office to provide official statistics on issues that are key to encouraging social action and empowering communities, including volunteering, giving and community engagement.
This latest survey reveals that people continue to volunteer on a regular basis (at least once a month), with overall volunteering levels remaining stable in 2015-16 at 47% compared with the same percentage in 2014-15. Annual volunteering levels have also remained stable, with 70% of people taking part in any volunteering in the past 12 months (69% in 2014-15). However, annual levels remain lower than those seen in 2013-14 (74%).
41% of people participated in formal volunteering at least once in the past 12 months, remaining stable when compared to 2014-15 (42%). 60% of people informally volunteered in the past 12 months, which also remains consistent with 2014-15 (59%).
Levels of charitable giving also remain stable, with 73% of people giving to charity in an average four-week period (compared with 75% in 2014-15). In 2015-16, the average amount given to charity within a 4-week period also remained stable at £22: the highest recorded level since 2005. 22% of people gave an average of £10- £19, which has decreased compared with 27% in 2014-15, however, those giving an average of £20-£49 has increased (28% compared with 24% in 2014-15).
The full survey can be read here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/community-life-survey.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.