Britons are "kind but apathetic charity givers", says survey
Howard Lake | 4 August 2005 | News
A survey for Samaritans into charitable giving has found that Britons are well-meaning but not generous. Donors would give just £4.22 to save their favourite charity from closing, about the cost of two high street cups of coffee.
The survey by NoP for Samaritans shows that people give when there is a crisis or celebrity involvement but not regularly to charity. Even if they donate on these occasions many do not plan to do so again.
The survey findings, which questioned over 1000 men and women across England and Scotland, also show that although 81% of Britons donated to the Tsunami appeal, only 10% of those who gave for the first time will give more to charity as a result and a worrying one in six actually expect to give less.
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Chief executive with Samaritans, David King, said, “These findings show what Samaritans already knows: that we all have good intentions, but it often takes a celebrity or a significant media event to highlight a cause and remind people to donate to charity.”
More than half the people surveyed said that they would give £6 if Samaritans was at risk of closing.
People in the North are more generous to charity than those in the south, according to the survey; and once again, it is confirmed that those who are poorer are more generous than the rich.
Other findings from the survey include:
* women are more charitable with 45% giving to charity each month, compared with only 45% of men
* 1 in 5 of men (19%) does not give to charity at all compared with 16% of women
* those with a household income of under £25,000 were also revealed as those willing to give the most to keep their favourite charity open if it were facing closure due to insufficient funds; 43% said they would be willing to donate up to £5 a month.
* older people are more generous with 50% of those over 65 giving to charity regularly. In contrast 24% of younger people aged 15-24 have never given to charity.
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.