Donations to children & animal-related causes decline as more give to NHS charities
Melanie May | 15 May 2020 | News
Donations to children and animal welfare charities have declined during the pandemic with people giving more to support hospitals and NHS organisations.
Research from the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), which tracks UK household giving patterns every month, found that 35% of people who had given to charity in the past four weeks had given to hospitals and hospices, up from the long term average of 21%.
The number of people giving money to children’s causes and animal welfare has dropped in the same period. In the 2019 CAF UK Giving report, which tracked trends across all of 2018, children’s charities and animal welfare were the joint most popular causes to which people donated their money.
Animal charities have seen the number of people making donations in the prior four weeks fall to 23% of donors in April, down from 31% in March, while donors supporting children’s charities have declined to 18% in April, below the long term average of 26%.
Survey respondents singled out NHS charities, donating to feed NHS staff and supporting Captain Tom Moore’s fundraising drive as examples of how they were donating their money.
CAF’s research is based on polling of 1,105 people carried out by YouGov between 20-23 April.
In addition to the big increase in money going to hospitals and the NHS, the survey also found that despite economic uncertainty and worries about job security, overall levels of giving to charity has remained high, with 34% of people saying they had donated to charity in the past four weeks – up from 30% in March.
Ben Russell, CAF’s Director of Policy, said:
“The British people continue to demonstrate the UK’s history of remarkable generosity and these figures are no exception.
“The willingness to help the dedicated NHS staff and the charities that support them shows the openheartedness and care the country feels towards people in great need and an inherent desire to stand with those on the frontlines.
“As we recover from this crisis, we will also need to think about how we maintain the tens of thousands of other charities working on so many issues which make a difference to all our lives because we’ll need them more than ever.”
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WATCH: Latest insight into how charities and donors are reacting
Here is CAF’s webinar from 30 April 2020 on its latest insight into the impact of COVID-19 among donors and charities.
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.