FEWER PEOPLE PARTICIPATE IN CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES, CAF FINDS

[RESEARCH PUBLISHED by the Charities Aid Foundation

(CAF) has revealed that fewer people are donating, volunteering and sponsoring charities than was the case before the pandemic. It suggests a worrying and possibly permanent change in charitable activity, CAF believes.

The long-running UK Giving Report contains survey data about the giving landscape for the whole of 2022. It covers the UK public’s generosity in response to the invasion of Ukraine, followed by the implications of the cost-of-living crisis at home.

Although participation in charitable and civic activities in 2022 was similar to 2021, it is still well below pre-pandemic levels. Throughout the year, only 7% report volunteering for a charity in the previous four weeks, down from 9% in 2019. Additionally, only 13% say they volunteered in the past year, compared to 17% pre-pandemic. That represents around 1.6 million fewer people volunteering over the past five years.

The cost-of-living crisis has also had a marked impact on charitable giving. Over the year more than two thirds (69%) of people said they would need to make cuts to their spending to help manage bills –including 17% who said they would be likely to cut their charitable donations. A quarter (24%) of people reported changing their charitable behaviour, including reducing or cancelling a regular charity donation (5%) and choosing not to make a one-off donation (10%).

Compared to the same months in 2021, March and April were the only months of 2022 when giving spiked – to 34% and 28% respectively