“Recession has made Scots philanthropically cautious” although “dip in giving may have flattened out”, vies nfpSynergy’s Baker

The number of Scottish people claiming they “donated to charity in the last 6 months” has dipped from 79% in April 08 - before the full felt force of the economic downturn - to just 71% in April 09, according to new data out today. Scottish males and the middle-aged (35-64 year olds) seem to have fronted the slump.

These latest findings come from leading not for profit sector think tank and research consultancy nfpSynergy’s Scottish Charity Engagement Monitor, which surveys a representative sample of over 1000 16+ year old Scots, online twice-yearly, yielding regular insights into what the Scottish public thinks about a range of charitable and social issues, and its propensity to give.

The overall 8 percentage point drop in Scottish people claiming to give to charities appears to be spearheaded by Scottish men and middle-aged Scots generally:

• Men north of the border – numbers claiming to have given in the last 6 months slumped a full 10 percentage points from over three quarters (76%, April 2008) to just two thirds (66%, April 2009) – compared with numbers of their female compatriots so claiming dipping 7 percentage points (82%, April 2008; 75%, April 2009).
• Middle-aged Scots – traditionally among the most likely donors – have been especially thrifty, in terms of numbers claiming to have given in the last 6 months:
• 35-44 yo - 12 percentage point dip (83%, April 2008; 71% April 2009)
• 45-54 yo - 12 percentage point dip (83%, April 2008; 71% April 2009)
• 55-64 yo - 16 percentage point dip (80%, April 2008; 64% April 2009)

Note: 25-34 yo Scots seem to be the only age group bucking the downward trend, albeit only slightly (74%, April 2008; 75% April 2009)

nfpSynergy’s researcher, Jonathan Baker, said:

“Our new research provides tangible evidence of the impact of the economic downturn on charitable giving in Scotland - with a significant overall year-on-year 8 percentage point dip in numbers claiming to have donated in the last 6 months, as the full felt force of the recession has made people philanthropically cautious. Anxiety appears especially acute amongst the middle aged – doubtless over jobs, homes and pensions - so charities may need to re-engage with this age group as the economy improves. Encouragingly, the dip in giving does at least seem to have flattened out over the last 6 months.”

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MEDIA COMMENT: To interview nfpSynergy’s Joe Saxton about these findings, please contact him direct on 07976 329 212 or joe.saxton@nfpsynergy.net; or, alternatively, contact Adrian Gillan (0774 086 7215; E: adrian@gillanmedia.com) for further assistance.

Note to editors:

nfpSynergy (www.nfpsynergy.net) is the UK’s only research consultancy dedicated to the charity sector and not-for-profit issues. It provides ideas, insights and information to help voluntary and community organisations thrive in an ever-changing world. Regularly harvesting the social and charity-related views of public and parliament, media and business - not to mention not for profit organisations themselves - nfpSynergy has a vast and ever-growing knowledge pool from which to extract and deliver insights.