As nfpSynergy clients who attended our March Insights event and heard the presentation that forms the basis of this editorial will be aware, one of the themes to emerge in recent waves of our research is that while charitable giving levels in 2012 remain volatile, the picture is not bleak.
A third (34%) and a fifth (20%) of the public say (slide 2) they are fairly or very worried about needing future financial assistance, from the state and from charities respectively, according to new data. Younger people and women are generally more worried about this than older people and men.
The public have a level of choice in almost every aspect of their lives that was unthinkable 20 years ago. But charities have largely ignored the rise in consumer choice in the way they treat their stakeholders. So how should charities respond to consumer choice - and even exploit it?
As the visibility and confidence of LGB consumers has grown and continues to grow in the UK, conventional marketing wisdom has been highlighting the potential for brands to engage with these audiences. Trends in the commercial sector show an increasing number of brands attempting to speak directly to LGB audiences and tailoring products or services to them. Have charities kept up? Previous analysis by nfpSynergy of National Statistics data revealed that same-sex-couple only households give less of their income away to charity than mixed-sex-couple only households[fn]nfpSynergy, 2007.
The Big Society agenda has been a political battlefield since its launch early last year. Left and right, charities and businesses, rich and poor have all lined up to support, denounce or simply shrug in confusion. In the wake of unprecedentedly severe spending cuts, the consensus has now become increasingly bleak.
At our most recent ‘Insights’ event we investigated the ways that different age groups engage with different charities. Some of our attendees’ discussions afterwards raised an interesting question – to what extent are these generational differences due to ‘life-stage effects,’ and to what extent are they due to ‘cohort effects’?
The Royal British Legion, RSA and Comic Relief are the top three UK-based charities with the largest “social media presence” - in terms of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube engagement - according to a major briefing out today.