What’s trending in charities?

More of us are giving

Ecclesiastical Insurance Ireland has released research into charitable giving and volunteering in Ireland which shows that three-quarters (77 per cent) of Irish adults donated to charity in 2022, up from 69 per cent in 2019.

More than two-fifths (42 per cent) said they had given some form of unpaid help or had worked as a volunteer for not-for-profit organisations or charities in the last year.

But we’re donating less

The report suggests the current socio-economic climate is influencing the amount of money we can give. In 2019, people donated approximately €111.67 yearly to charities, compared with an average of €93.35 in 2022.

That chimes with experience on the ground. “We noticed a reduction in responses in 2022 and 2023 particularly to ‘cash appeals’,” says Halina McNabb corporate fundraising executive at Barnardos.

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“Barnardos needs to raise €9m this year just to keep the lights on and the same current level of services going. With the cost-of-living crisis affecting everyone, there has been a slight downward trend in giving from general regular donors.

Young people lead the way

The research found Generation Z, those born from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s, are most actively engaged with volunteering. Some 59 per cent of 18–24-year-olds had volunteered in the previous 12 months. That compared with just under half (48 per cent) of those in the 25-34 age bracket. Older generations spent less time volunteering, 43 per cent for 35- to 44-year-olds and 36 per cent for those aged 45-54.

Outlook is correlated with desire to donate

It identified a clear correlation between peoples’ outlook and their desire to donate. Those who were more optimistic about the future were most likely to donate or volunteer (at 44 per cent). But 19 per cent of those who said they had felt isolated from other people recently, stated that in the past 12 months they had not given any unpaid help or worked as a volunteer.

Attitudes to charity impact recruitment

A recent Focus Ireland study found 85 per cent of us are more likely to consider a role in an organisation that supports a cause or charity, and 81 per cent feel it is important that businesses encourage employees to engage in charitable activities. The findings were released for its annual Shine A Light campaign against homelessness.

One in three people in the public sector actually work in the community and voluntary sector, providing services to people in need. Up to 70 per cent of their funding comes from the public purse in the form of grants.

“But the majority of those grants haven’t increased in over a decade,” says Ivan Cooper of The Wheel, the charities organisation. The result is that, while the research shows people want to work in an organisation that supports a charity, many who actually work in one feel they have no alternative but to leave to increase their pay.