Volunteering And Charitable Giving

Wednesday 20 December 2000

Charity Begins At Home - And At Christmas

Nine out of ten British adults give to charity, far higher than the pattern across Europe^*. Four out of ten are more likely to give money at Christmas. These findings are from a new Nestlé Family Monitor study into 'Charitable Giving and Volunteering'.

The study showed that 92% contributed to at least one charity over the past year. Amongst people who carry out voluntary work the figure rose to 97% giving an average of over £250.

The profile of the charitable giver is of a woman, aged over 34, in social class AB. The likelihood of charitable giving increases further if the woman is married and retired.

Q Which, if any, of the following things have you done to support a charity financially in the last 12 months?

Base: All adults (504)

	Contributed to at least 1 charity	Contributed to at least 3 charities	Contributed to at least 5 charities	Have not contributed to charity
	%	%	%	%
Total	92	67	36	7
Men	89	61	30	11
Women	96	73	41	4
16-24	82	51	15	18
25-34	89	61	33	10
35-54	96	74	46	4
55+	96	72	37	4
AB	100	88	53	-
C1	91	69	44	8
C2	95	59	31	5
DE	86	58	20	14
Volunteer	97	78	46	3
Do not participate in voluntary work	90	59	28	10

Source: Nestlé Family Monitor / MORI

The results should please the Government which recently launched a campaign, led by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Charities Aid Foundation, aimed at boosting charitable giving. 'Judging from the findings of this research, the initiative will fall on fertile ground,' commented Nestlé UK Chairman, Peter Blackburn.

When asked whether they thought Britons were 'more likely to help charities than people in other Western countries' 40% answered 'yes' and 17% 'no'. This perception confirms the reality according to an earlier study by MORI conducted across Europe.

Substantial numbers give over £1000

The majority of those who have donated money to charity say they have donated less than £100 over the last year. Nevertheless, the presence of a number of substantial donors, 2% (representing around 750,000 people) say they have donated £1,000 or more, draws the overall average up to £165. ABs on average donate £366 and C1s £176. This compares with a DE average of around £46. It should be borne in mind though that the public tends to over estimate the amount they have donated when asked questions such as this.

Not only are volunteers more likely to give money to charity, but they give more - the average volunteer donated over £250 to charity over the past year compared to an average donation of under £90 for those who do not volunteer.

Volunteering is a family habit

The country is more or less divided in half between households that undertake voluntary work and those that do not. In 53% of households at least one member undertook some voluntary work, however minor.

The influence of the family on whether a person does voluntary work is profound. When asked how they personally first became involved in voluntary work, the biggest influence was family and friends. Their influence is more powerful than clubs, the media or the charities themselves.

Among children, family and friends remain important, but the most powerful influence is the school. 50% of those children who do voluntary work first became involved through the school. The church introduced 14% of both adults and child volunteers to their first involvement.

MORI interviewed 504 adults, a nationally representative sample, between 23 September and 8 October, for the Nestlé Family Monitor. A full copy of the report is available free from Corporate Affairs, Nestlé UK, St George's House, Croydon CR9 1NR or via the Web site: www.nestlefamilymonitor.co.uk

^* The European figures come from a separate multi-country study conducted in 1996/1997 by MORI on behalf of UNFPA. This found (using a different question) that the British public is more likely to donate money to charity than its European counterparts. At that time, four in five (80%) of people living in Great Britain said specifically that they had made a donation to charity over the last 2-3 years. This compared to a European average of 59%.

Technical details

The Nestlé Family Monitor is a series of research studies into family life in Britain undertaken on behalf of Nestlé UK by MORI.

Topline Results

• 504 interviews conducted face-to-face, in-home between 23rd September - 8th October 2000
• Representative, quota sample; data weighted to national profile
• An asterisk (*) denotes a percentage of less than 0.5% but greater than zero
• Base: All unless otherwise specified

Q1 Which, if any, of the following things have you done to support a charity financially in the last 12 months? In giving me your answer, please do not include any purchase of, or contribution to, National Lottery tickets or scratch cards.

Q2 And which two or three things, if any, would you prefer to do for charity in the next 12 months?

	Q1	Q2
	%	%
Been a paid-up member of a charity (even if you joined more than a year ago)	17	10
Bought a copy of Big Issue	25	10
Bought items from a charity catalogue (e.g. gifts)	22	8
Bought items from a charity shop	37	22
Given money to a door-to-door collection	50	23
Given money to an in-the-street collection	55	30
Made a credit card donation	9	6
Made a telephone pledge after a TV appeal	7	3
Placed money in a collection envelope through your door	47	19
Pledged money in your will (even if you pledged it more than a year ago)	5	1
Responded to a direct mail appeal	10	2
Sent money by post as a donation (not for gifts etc)	18	9
Sponsored somebody	48	26
Subscribed to a charity newsletter	7	3
Taken part in a Give As You Earn scheme	4	2
Undertaken to give money on a regular basis (even if you pledged it more than a year ago)	19	13
Other	8	7
None of these	7	7
Don't know / not stated	*	6
Any	92	87
At least 3	67	36

Q3 Which, if any, of the following types of charity have you contributed to in the last year? Please do not include any contributions through purchases of National Lottery tickets or scratchcards. Please just read out the letter or letters that apply.

Q4 And which two or three types of charity, if any, would you prefer to contribute to in the next year?
Base: All who have donated money to charity in last year (464)

	Q3	Q4
	%	%
Animal charities	31	25
Children's charities	55	50
Environment and conservation	12	8
Overseas emergency e.g. famine relief	19	8
Homeless people's charities	26	13
Medical care	26	20
Medical research	52	45
Mental health	12	8
Old people's charities	24	16
Overseas / third world	21	12
Preserving Britain's heritage	8	5
Public service	5	3
Religious charities	18	9
Social welfare	7	2
Other	8	5
None of these	1	1
Don't know / not stated	3	4

Q5 Over the last year, approximately how much money, if any, would you say you have donated to charities overall? Again, please do not include any contributions through National Lottery tickets or scratch cards.
Base: All who have donated money to charity in last year (464)

	%
Nothing	0
1p-£4	5
£5-£9	8
£10-£14	13
£15-£19	6
£20-£29	11
£30-£49	10
£50-£99	17
£100-£149	6
£150-£199	5
£200-£299	3
£300-£499	4
£500-£699	1
£700-£999	1
£1,000-£4,999	2
£5,000+	*
Don't know	8
Refused	1
Mean	£165

I am now going to ask you some questions about voluntary work. By voluntary work we mean any kind of work to help others in the community or to help run charitable organisations for which you receive no financial payment.

Q6 Here is a list of the kinds of voluntary work that some people do. Which, if any, have you been personally involved in over the past year?

Q7 And, which, if any, have any other adults in your household done during the past year?

Q8 And, which, if any, have any of your children (aged 16 or under and living with you) done during the past year?

	Q7	Q8	Q9
	All	All with other adults in household	All parents / legal guardians
Base:	(504)	(383)	(182)
	%	%	%
Helped run a scout or guide group	3	2	4
Helped run another group for children or adolescents	7	6	2
Helped run an organisation for elderly people	3	1	0
Helped with disabled people	7	5	3
Helped with transport for old or disabled people	4	3	1
Helped with meals on wheels or other social care	2	2	1
Helped run an organisation like the Rotary, Lions or Towns Women's Guild	2	1	0
Helped with fundraising / collected money for a charity	17	11	7
Helped with a political party	2	1	0
Helped with an activist group	2	0	0
Helped organise a sport	6	4	6
Organised a petition	3	1	1
Been on a protest	2	1	0
Campaigned on behalf of a group / charity e.g. written letters of complaint to papers / MPs etc	5	3	1
Helped with a religious group	9	6	6
Helped with a school event	14	12	26
Helped organise a charity event	9	6	2
Participated in a sponsored event	11	8	25
Worked in a charity shop	2	1	1
Other	5	2	2
None of these	56	58	48
Don't know	1	8	5
Any	44	33	47
At least 3 activities	16	11	9

Q9 On average, how many hours per week have you spent on voluntary work over this last year? Just read out the letter that applies.

Q10 On average, how many hours per week, in total, have your children (aged 16 or under and living with you) spent on voluntary work over this last year? Just read out the letter that applies.

	Q9	Q10
	All who have personally participated in voluntary work	All whose children have participated
Base:	(217)	(87)
	%	%
No time	0	0
Under 1 hour	24	47
1-3 hours	26	28
4-6 hours	18	8
7-9 hours	7	1
10-14 hours	5	1
15-19 hours	2	0
20+ hours	7	2
It depends / varies	5	6
Don't know	5	8
Mean	5 hours	2 hours

Q11 How did you personally first become involved in the voluntary work you have done over the last year?

Q12 And how did your children (aged 16 or under and living with you) first become involved in the voluntary work they have done over the last year?

	Q11	Q12
	All who have personally participated in voluntary work	All whose children have participated
Base:	(217)	(87)
	%	%
Friend/s got me involved	25	9
Husband / wife / partner got me / them involved	5	1
Mother / father got me / them involved	3	9
Son / daughter got me / them involved	9	2
Grandparents got me / them involved	0	0
Other relative got me / them involved	2	2
My child's school got me / them involved	14	50
Got involved when doing a course	2	0
Got involved through Church	14	14
Charity itself approached me / them	7	0
Charity marketing (e.g. leaflets, posters etc)	4	3
Found out for myself / themselves	8	0
Got involved through a club	9	9
Media coverage of the cause	1	0
Saw info on TV / in newspaper	2	0
Other	24	14
Don't know / not stated	7	9

Q13 Why do you do voluntary work? Why else?
Base: All personally involved in voluntary work (217)

	%
A good / worthy cause / they do good work	37
Because of media attention / publicity about the cause	1
Believe strongly in the charity / cause	17
Concern for the future	2
Emotional blackmail / moral obligation	1
Every little helps	10
Have spare time	9
Helps them with their work / research	2
I like / have children / grandchildren / they are important	7
I like / love animals	3
I want to help / like helping people / have caring nature	19
In a good financial position to do so	1
It is everybody's responsibility	3
Like to help the less fortunate / the helpless	9
Makes me feel I've done something / eases my conscience	7
May need help myself someday	2
Not enough resources to help themselves	2
Not supported enough by Government / other bodies	2
Personal experience / with relative	2
Something to do in my retirement	2
To spend money wisely / can see what is happening with the money	0
The help is needed / need help / rely on donations	8
There are always people worse off than ourselves	4
Religious reasons	7
Other	29
Don't know / not stated	4

Q14 How likely or unlikely are you to become involved in voluntary work in the next few years?
Base: All who have not participated in voluntary work in last year (287)

	%
Certain to	1
Very likely	2
Fairly likely	10
Neither likely nor unlikely	11
Fairly unlikely	21
Very unlikely	25
Certain not to	17
Don't know / not stated	14

Q15 Which, if any, of the following voluntary activities would you prefer to do? Just read out the letter or letters that apply.
Base: All interested in becoming involved in voluntary work (38)

	%
Help run a scout or guide group	6
Help run another group for children or adolescents	10
Help run an organisation for elderly people	29
Help with disabled people	30
Help with transport for old or disabled people	14
Help with meals on wheels or other social care	7
Help run an organisation like the Rotary, Lions or Towns Women's Guild	6
Help with fundraising / collect money for a charity	24
Help with a political party	3
Help with an activist group	8
Help organise a sport	11
Organise a petition	7
Go on a protest	4
Campaign on behalf of a group / charity e.g. write letters of complaint to papers / MPs etc	3
Helped with a religious group	3
Help with a school event	33
Help organise a charity event	18
Participate in a sponsored event	15
Work in a charity shop	6
Other	8
None of these	0
Don't know	3

Q16 To what extent do you encourage or discourage your children to take part in voluntary work?

Q17 And, as far as you know, to what extent does your child's school encourage or discourage them to take part in voluntary activities?
Base: All parents / legal guardians (182)

	Q16	Q17
	%	%
Encourage a great deal	9	11
Encourage a fair amount	24	27
Encourage a little	18	17
Neither encourage nor discourage	18	6
Discourage a little	0	0
Discourage a fair amount	*	*
Discourage a great deal	0	0
Doesn't apply yet / they're too young	27	24
Don't know / not stated	4	15
Encourage	51	54
Discourage	*	*

Q18 To what extent did your own parents (or the people who cared for you) encourage or discourage you to take part in voluntary work?

	%
Encourage a great deal	9
Encourage a fair amount	16
Encourage a little	10
Neither encourage nor discourage	59
Discourage a little	2
Discourage a fair amount	*
Discourage a great deal	1
Don't know	4
Encourage	34
Discourage	3

Q19 When you were a child did you join or help your parents in any voluntary work at all, or not?

	%
Yes	28
No	69
Don't know / not stated	3

Q20 What, if anything, prevents you from participating in voluntary work / more

	%
Charity already receives help	0
Charity starts at home	*
Don't get paid	3
Not cool / fashionable / reputation	1
Not interested	6
Not my job / responsibility	3
Haven't any spare time / no time	52
Unworthy cause	*
Would make no difference	0
Got children / got more than enough on my plate	8
Other	25
Nothing	13
Don't know / not stated	3

Q21 What could be done to encourage more people to do voluntary work in the future?

Top answers	%
More advertising / campaigning on TV / in the press / media	20
Greater understanding of the needs / show where is needed	6
Give more information / details / make people aware how they can help	6
Having more free / leisure time	5
Financial payment / help with expenses / travel costs	5
Other	5
Don't know	34

Q22 I am going to read out a number of statements that people have made about voluntary work and charitable giving. Please tell me to what extent you agree or disagree with each statement?

	Strongly agree	Tend to agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Tend to disagree	Strongly disagree	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Charity begins at home	30	40	12	13	3	2
Most people only help charities so that they feel good about themselves	5	27	16	32	15	4
Most people only donate money to charity if there is a chance of winning a prize	8	22	10	39	19	2
People in Britain are more likely to help charities than are people in other Western countries	12	28	25	12	5	18
I am more likely to donate money at Christmas	10	30	11	33	14	1
I don't believe in giving to charity because the Government should be doing many of the things which charities do	10	20	17	28	23	2
People are less likely to help charities nowadays	6	36	18	28	7	6
I am more likely to help small, local charities than larger, national ones	16	37	20	18	6	3
Schools have an important role to play in encouraging young people to get involved in voluntary work	38	47	7	6	1	3

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