Having secured the 0.7% of aid target for the world’s poor, overseas aid charities have found themselves out of step with some right wing politicians and portions of the public. As a result, I worry that they are going to suffer over the next decade.

Here are my reasons why:

Overseas development isn’t high on people’s list of priorities

How often do we think of economics as a tool that can help solve every day social problems? Not that much I guess. Yet, economics is about almost everything that people do. And sometimes we can see elegant solutions to very complex social problems that affect ordinary people in their everyday lives that were designed by economists.

I’d like to share a story of how economists designed a whole new market for one hunger-relief charity and united those on the left and the right politically on the way.

The run up to Christmas 2015 was a busy period for charities. Giving Tuesday, big TV adverts and multiple Christmas appeals meant that people had even more contact with charities than usual. But how do the UK public feel about charities at Christmas? Which campaigns are the most successful and why?

In part one of this report we discuss our recent research into the public’s experiences of interacting with charities at Christmas. We look at which causes, charities and campaigns were the winners of Christmas 2015 and why.

There are over 160,000 charities in the UK¹, benefiting a wide range of causes from hospices to international development. We explore facts and figures to try and determine which of these causes appeal most to the general public, but find that the outcome depends on the criteria used. When asked, the public name clear favourites such as cancer and animals, but when their donating and volunteering preferences are considered the picture is far from clear.

Robbie Macmillan, 22-year old graduate, Founder and Chairman of Children of Rwanda, a new charity promoting children's health and education in the western part of Rwanda, is contributing to our blog this week. 

Have you ever wanted a few facts and figures about the sector at your fingertips?  Have you wished you could give a journalist a few nuggets of info to show how important the sector is to society? 

As it's the season of goodwill, we're giving away The 12 Insights of Christmas. They look at some of the key issues facing the charity sector and include research, interviews and advice from charities and from us. Unwrap our 12 free reports just in time for Christmas.

1. A Hidden Gem - Resilience report from the Clore Social Leadership Programme

Results for charities with an income between £1m and £10m annually, taken from our 2008 Virtual Promise survey of how charities are using the internet.