Who Will be Donating Big to This Year’s Good Friday Appeal?

In 2011, almost 13 million Australians made charitable donations, according to the latest Roy Morgan research.

The research, as part of Roy Morgan’s Large Charity Profile, found that 70% of the Australian population aged 14+ (12,940,000 people) had donated to charity in the previous 12 months.

Norman Morris, the Industry Communications Director for Roy Morgan Research says that in the current climate of financial insecurity, it can be difficult work for charity events, such as the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday appeal in Victoria to secure public donations.

“When focusing on different income groups, we see higher proportions of charity donors associated with higher income brackets. For example, 86% of those who earn $100,000 or more donated to charity in the last 12 months, and 40% of this same group donated $200 or more.

Charity Donors by Income Group

Source: Roy Morgan Research Single Source, Jan 11 – Dec 11, n = 18,641.

“When breaking down the amounts donated to charity we see that around 4,004,000 people donated $200 or more over the last 12 months, and it is these large donors that are of interest to charities trying to raise funds.

The research also found that 76% try to buy Australian made products where possible, 73% aren’t interested in ad posters in shopping centres, and 69% feel they are financially stable.

Some of the other characteristics of large donors include 60% who prefer to support longer term aid rather than crisis appeals.

Large donors (33%) are more likely to have a credit card than the Australian population, 23% are more likely to watch ABC1 programs and 21% more likely to feel financially stable.

The Roy Morgan charity donation data comes from part of an ongoing nationwide survey of over 50,000 Australians annually, showing distinct trends over a number of years.

“Charities can no longer rest on the good will of the public – especially given the current economic uncertainty – so developing strategies to reach donors is of the up-most importance,” Morris said.

In 2011, The Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal raised $15.156,000 from the Victorian community.