Jonathan Baker: Charities hit by the recession may enjoy a new lease of life

Published on Wednesday 8 July 2009 09:51

Why it is so much better to give than receive

SCOTS have traditionally been as generous as anyone else in the UK when it comes to giving money to charity, but the credit crunch has made many people think twice about donating - and made some groups noticeably more cautious than others.

According to the latest data from nfpSynergy's rolling Scottish Charity Engagement Monitor (SCEM), surveying a representative sample of over 1, 000 16+ year old Scots, the number claiming they "donated to charity in the last 6 months" has dipped from 79 per cent in April 2008 - before the full felt force of the economic downturn - to just 71 per cent in April 2009. That's roughly 10 per cent down, year-on-year.

Scottish men, and the middle-aged generally, seem to have fronted this philanthropic slump. The potential impact of the recession on jobs, homes and pensions is likely to have been an especial cause of concern and restraint amongst 35-64 year olds - traditionally among the most active of donors.

Encouragingly – not least for struggling charities – the dip in giving does at least seem to have flattened out over the past 6 months. Whilst we have doubtless all had at least some nervy thoughts about our financial situations in recent months, it is possible that we are now entering a new phase of recession, where people are better able to gauge how secure, or otherwise, their own personal position is; where the debilitating sense of panic may well be over; and where – as people adjust to their new reality – they will then be better able to decide just how much money they are comfortable to donate to causes.

Moreover, not only does the fall in donations seem to have levelled off, but the vast majority of donors have not stopped donating. And increases in the number of enquiries about volunteering show that people still want to help charities, in whatever ways they can – even if that's giving up a few hours to themselves go out and ask for money.

&#149 Jonathan Baker is a researcher with not for profit sector think tank, nfpSynergy. Log on to www.nfpsynergy.net