Charity is just as it is perceived by many individuals. It is voluntary giving which occurs in three main forms namely, money, goods and services. Charity has always been a part of many people’s lives and thus has been a viable phenomenon until recently. It has been found that in the United Kingdom charities are facing tough times with recent research showing that donations are down. However, the Mintel report has found that, in general, the consumer is committed to donating and plans to do so at similar levels in the future. There is evidence that some consumers are cutting back and donating goods rather than cash (Mintel 2010).
The decrease in donations, it is hoped, is just for now and is directly attributed to the present state of the economy worldwide. There is evidence that this will change as the Mintel report has found that, in general, the consumer is committed to donating and plans to do so at similar levels in the future.
Research has found that in the year 2009, it was estimated that charities in England and Wales were just fewer than 180, with a total income of £51.7 billion, with the number of charities falling from 190,541 in 2007 to an estimated 172,194 in 2010, a 18347 difference (Mintel 2010).
Charitable donation is getting popularised with 56% of adults donating to various charitable causes in 2009/10. This was through a number different means of donation namely collection boxes in shops, direct debit, sponsoring an event and giving street collections. The aforementioned were found to be the most popular ways for people to give to charity (Mintel 2010).The number of people giving has also increased a little over the last year, after recent decrease between the year 2007/08 and 2008/09. There is virtually no change in the proportion giving to charity in the long term as donation level has taken a steady stand over the year (CAF 2010).
There is an increasing trend for giving goods rather than cash. Out of those that have not donated (cash) to charity in the last 12 months, two thirds have given unwanted items to charity shops instead. Concern that not enough money goes directly to the cause was the reason for over 57%.
The recession has impacted giving, but research has found that levels are recovering. Over the last year the proportion of people giving has increased slightly, after decreasing between 2007/08and 2008/09 at the time of the recession and increased from £10 in 2008/09 to £12 in 2009/10. The overall amount of £10.6 billion given to charity was an increase in real terms of £400 million compared to £10.2 billion in 2008/09. The popularity of overseas causes increased in 2009/10 almost by one quarter.
In an ambitious global study, the United Kingdom was identified as one of the countries with the highest proportion of adults giving money. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of UK adults reported giving in the last month, lower than Malta (83%) and the Netherlands (77%), and slightly greater than Ireland (72%), Australia (70%) and New Zealand (68%) (NCVO, 2010).
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