Predictions for Charity Christmas Gifts in 2010

What’s hot and what’s not this Christmas – Chickens are hot. Global warming is not. Aid is in and goats are out and the word 'Christmas' is back in fashion.

These are the predictions of the Karma Currency Foundation, a Not for Profit organisation that hosts one of the largest charitable gift registries in the southern hemisphere.

Swinburne Master of Information Technology student, Novi Amiyanti, has been on an industry placement working with the Foundation to analyse data from the last three years.

She has examined data from 7000 donors, 11,000 charity gift cards and 15,000 individual redemptions.

Based on the data, the Foundation has made its predictions for the Top 5 Charity Gift Redemptions for Christmas 2010.

1. Emergency Relief Aid – through World Vision Australia (cost $2.00)
2. Gifts that keep giving (chickens) – through Every Home Global Concern (cost $5.00)
3. Save a dog – through World Society for the Protection of Animals (cost $20.00)
4. Toys and books for kids in India – through Plan (cost $5.00)
5. Sleep in Peace (mosquito nets) – though Save The Children (cost $10.00)

Novi Amiyanti’s analysis has also found that in 2010 the word ‘Christmas’ will be back in fashion and is set to overtake ‘Happy Holidays’ as the key message on cards.

Other findings include:

• Corporate spending on charity gift vouchers has increased 18 per cent per year, lifting the average donation from $18 in 2008 to $26 in 2009. The prediction for this Christmas is $30.
• Individual spending on charity gift vouchers remains steady at $45 – almost twice the current Corporate spend.
• Sending charity gift cards by post is set to drop by 20 per cent, whilst sending emails is set to rise by 11 per cent. Printing personalised cards is still the most popular method to send a charity gift card.
• Charity gift card recipients spend over six minutes on the website selecting which charities and projects to support.
• The third most popular word in a charity gift card sent by a corporate was the word ‘choice’. This reflects earlier studies in 2008 by Cavill and Co and Sweeney Research which showed that 76 per cent of staff said they want to be consulted about the cause that is supported.

Karma Currency founder Ash Rosshandler says the study shows that coporate giving is starting to catch up with individual giving in the dollar value and it is also a reflection of the easing out of the Global Financial Crisis.

As well he says it shows that more people are spending time on websites finding out where to place their donations.

Link: www.karmacurrency.com.au