Reading tea leaves, #7: the will to give

By: 

Cheryl Chapman

Managing Editor, Philanthropy UK

Tracking the impact of the recession on giving...

Sifting through the swathe of surveys and reports landing in our in-box over the last fortnight, the evidence would suggest that, despite the recession, there is still very much an appetite for giving –  though not just money. Skills, time and goods are also being donated by a public that seems keen to give something back, in whatever way they can.

Even in the sectors that have taken a real hit in the recession – such as endowed foundations and hedge fund investors – there have been some signs of optimisim.

Cuts in grant-making are expected by charitable foundations this year but the long-term outlook is more optimistic, according to a member survey by the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF). 

Fifty-one per cent of those who answered questions about grant-making said they expected it to fall in their next financial year. Yet the outlook for the longer-term is more optimistic. Beyond two years, 45% of participating members expect to increase their grant-making and another 33% expect to maintain current levels.

David Emerson, chief executive of ACF, summarized: “While not immune to the recession, for the most part it is business as usual.”

And while hedge fund managers have been feeling particularly bruised by the markets, a fundraising gala held last week in aid of Absolute Return for Kids (ARK) raised a respectable £15.6m – above an admittedly cautious £10m target and albeit, not surprisingly, below last year’s figure of £25.5m – however still an impressive figure for one evening’s work.

There is further evidence people are still reaching for their wallets in a recent survey by private bank Coutts of 100 of its clients, which showed that nearly 90% are planning to maintain or increase donation levels this year.

And a TFN (The Funding Network) celebrity fundraiser, held on a beautiful evening in the cloud-scraping Barclays tower in Canary Wharf, may not have shaken and stirred (yes, it’s true, Daniel Craig was there!) as its first celebrity fundraiser held last year did, but it compared very well with any of its other fundraising events over the past year, turning in a solid performance and raising at least double the requested amount for each of the five applicant charities, with a recession-busting £61,982 pledged in total.

In other positive news, the value of charity donations given through online auction website eBay has gone up – tripling in the past year, with donations from eBay sellers in the UK soaring from £40,000 a month to £120,000 a month in the year to April, according to analysis from MissionFish, eBay's charity partner.
 
What is especially interesting this week, however, is the upsurge in people seeking to give in a variety of ways – and we are seeing upward trends in volunteering and donating to charity shops.

Volunteering enquiries to the British Red Cross have quadrupled, from an average of 300 per month in 2008 to around 1,400 per month in 2009, according to recent figures released by the charity, in conjunction with Volunteers’ Week.  Meanwhile, Volunteering England has reported a similar surge in interest amongst potential volunteers, including professionals – a trend first reported by Philanthropy UK in March.

More people are also giving to and buying from charity shops than before the recession, a poll has suggested. Pollsters YouGov surveyed 2,140 adults on behalf of insurance company Ecclesiastical at the beginning of May. Twenty-one per cent said they had recently started donating items to shops, and 43% were already giving before the recession and had continued to do so.

So perhaps we can conclude that the will to give remains strong, and while the recession is impacting on the amount of money that can be donated, as expected, people are finding other ways to fulfil the philanthropist within themselves. 

Mark Evans, head of philanthropy and family business at Coutts, makes a reference to this in announcing their recent findings: "The charity sector is responding to the diversity of interests and enthusiasms among new donors, exploring ways of involving them and drawing on their skills."