nfp co-director, Cian Murphy, writes:

Public support for overseas aid has been declining

Results from our latest wave of nfpIntelligence research are in, and they don’t make comforting reading for charities working in the overseas aid and development sector. Over the last fifteen years, the proportion of the UK public reporting it as one of their top causes has declined steadily from 16% to just 6% in our most recent wave, with the figure languishing consistently in the mid single digits for the last few years. Voluntary income is down in absolute terms for many large overseas charities over the last ten years, and that is before taking into account the wholesale slashing of institutional funding from government aid agencies. What’s worse is that this cut to government funding of development assistance is broadly popular – in our December research wave, 51% supported decreasing the aid budget while just 22% supported increasing it.

But then, this pessimism is nothing new. Indeed, this is a recurring theme in the pages of this blog and five years ago, I wrote a blog questioning where the overseas sector could go next. Many of the issues I identified there still remain: the move from solid “immediate needs” narratives to structural stories around climate change making it harder for donors to make the connection between their £10 donation and progress on international issues. It is easy to focus on the challenges that still remain rather than the progress that has been made – but over time, this erodes donors’ belief that they can make a difference.

An inward-facing world is reshaping attitudes to overseas aid

What has changed significantly, however, is the international context. In the intervening five years, wars in Ukraine and Gaza have seemingly exposed the shallowness of the rules-based international order. Ongoing American military adventures in Venezuela and threats to allies in Europe threaten the established order. In this more dangerous and multipolar world, British governments, both Labour and Tory, have expressed the need for spending overseas to be more muscular in its expression of British interests. The liberal optimism of a world beyond zero-sum competition has been shaken to its core and seems to be in full-on retreat. Across Europe, countries have become more inward-facing, while 73% of respondents in our December round of research agreed that “We need to help those living in Britain before we can help people living abroad”.

Meanwhile, as division around migration ratchets higher and higher in the UK, it seems that much of the energy previously dedicated to international issues among younger campaigners is directed to supporting refugees and asylum seekers at home. While previously overseas aid and development was clearly the more popular cause, in our recent research, the gap has been much narrower – indeed, as recently as 2022, more people selected refugee and asylum seekers as a favourite cause than selected overseas aid and development. The strength, history, brand power and supporter demographics of overseas organisations mean that financially they remain much stronger, but for how long can this be relied on?

What does legitimacy look like for overseas aid today?

So, to repeat my question from 2021: where next for the overseas aid and development sector? It is clear that emergency appeals are still performing well. Two of the DEC’s highest-raising appeals happened within the last three years – for the Ukraine war and the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. There is still a desire among the public to support people living overseas, and 77% of respondents in our recent survey agreed that there should be more cooperation between countries to solve the world’s problems.

The challenge, then, is not whether the British public cares about people overseas, but whether the overseas aid and development sector can articulate a role for itself that feels relevant, effective and legitimate in a more inward-facing and insecure world. At a moment when public support is fragile and political backing is retreating, this feels like more than a communications problem.

What may be needed now is a broader, more honest national conversation about the UK’s role in supporting the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. Without a clear, shared vision for why overseas aid matters today – and what it is for – the sector risks relying on crisis moments rather than sustained public consent. The question is whether there is a mission or framing that can once again command the support of a majority of the UK public, and whether the sector is ready to define it.