Pensioners Most Generous Donors - UK Survey

Pensioners are Britain’s most generous donors to charity, according to a new UK report.

Young people aged 15 to 24 are least likely to give their money away, UK market analysts Mintel found.
Last year 75 percent of Britons aged 65 plus gave more than £5 (approx $AUD12) to charity compared to a national average of 64%.

This dropped to an average 44% among the 15 to 24s, while 69% of 45 to 60-year-olds made a £5 plus donation. Emergency appeals for specific events and charity Christmas cards are the most popular ways of giving money, Mintel’s Charities report says.

Both methods were used by 40% of interviewees compared with 35% who gave money to people collecting on the street.

Only 3% of those questioned set up a regular bank donation as a result of direct mail or being stopped on the street.
Charity wristbands were most popular among younger people, with 46% of 15 to 24-year-olds prepared to buy one.

Mintel senior market analyst Matt King said Britain’s over-65s were by far the most active charity donors.

King says the relative apathy of younger consumers when it comes to giving to charity shows that there is huge potential for charities to make themselves more relevant to the younger generation, particularly the under-25s.
The proportion of Britons giving $AUD10 or more to charity within a 12 month period rose from 57% in 2003 to 64% in 2005.

There is a bias towards women in the charities sector, with nearly 70% of women donating at least £5 in the last 12 months, compared with just 60% of men.

While charities supporting the UK Poppy Day Appeal (24%), children (33%) and research into cancer (47%) remain Britain’s top three favourites, overseas relief has attracted the greatest increase in the past 2 years.
Indeed, the proportion of adults who donated £5 or more giving to overseas relief funds has risen from 13% in 2003 to 17% last year, with this increase being to the detriment of almost every other cause, as donors give a greater portion of their charitable ‘budgets’ to disaster appeals.

Matt King says that although it would seem that recent world events, such as the Boxing Day Tsunami, the Make Poverty History campaign and the crisis in Niger, have meant some charities have lost out, they have undoubtedly raised the profile of donating in general and encouraged more consumers to put their hands in their pockets to help out.

He says these events have clearly inspired people who would not otherwise give to charity into sending a donation. The challenge for charities is to translate this outpouring of public sympathy and financial support into long-term relationships and regular giving habits.

Mintel’s findings are based on an Omnibus survey of 25,000 adults aged 15 plus and a consumer survey of 1,015 people in the same age group, both of which were carried out last year.