Table of Contents
Introduction
In January, we conducted some research for a charity client, focusing on the information which we could not find on other similar industry surveys. We asked 45+ year old women in the UK what the causes that resonate with them are and matched that with how many times they donated in the last 12 months. The preise of this charity research sounds simple enough, but some of the learnings may surprise you.
Charity research outcomes
1. Rural environments are more charitable than urban ones.
Women living in rural environments are 10 ppts more likely to have donated to 3+ causes in the last 12 months. Additionally, a higher number of respondents living in rural environments have been donating to charities overall.
| No. of causes | Urban | Rural | Total |
| 0 | 12% | 5% | 11% |
| 1 | 13% | 13% | 13% |
| 2 | 25% | 23% | 24% |
| 3 | 19% | 27% | 21% |
| 4 | 9% | 9% | 9% |
| 5+ | 21% | 24% | 22% |
2. Area of residence affects donation considerations
While food, poverty and cancer related causes are the most popular nationwide, there is a lot of variance between different regions and geographic areas.
For instance:
- Children’s charities resonate more with London and South West as well as with urban environments.
- Welsh audience cares uniquely about humanitarian aid and disaster relief charities
- Yorkshire and Humber is the most keen to support arts, culture and community related causes.
| Charitable causes | Percentage of respondents |
| Refugee / conflict | 21% |
| Sustainability / animal / wildlife | 35% |
| Food / poverty | 43% |
| Education | 11% |
| Arts / culture / community | 7% |
| Mental health | 31% |
| Health / disease – cancer related | 41% |
| Children’s charities | 31% |
| Humanitarian aid / disaster relief | 29% |
| Health / disease – non-cancer related | 29% |
| Housing | 19% |
| All causes listed | 8% |
| Other / Not sure | 10% |
3. Frequent donors show different priorities
The perceived importance of causes shifts based on the donation frequency. For instance:
- For women who did not donate at all in the last 12 months, mental health was the 3rd most important cause. Meanwhile, for those who donated 5+ times, it moved down to the 7th place, overtaken by causes that deal with emergencies (e.g. refugee and conflict)
- Children’s charities resonated most with infrequent donors – women donating 1-2 times in 12 months
- Humanitarian aid and disaster relief strongly resonate only with frequent donors – women who donated 4+ times in 12 months
The correlations between emphathy, ability and wish to donate have not been addressed in this charity research. Conversationally, the skew towards emergency causes from women who donated more might be caused by the urgency of the cause itself. As causes championed by mental health charities tend to be slow burning societal problems, these charities can be overlooked by a more empathetic part of population who make more split second decisions about financial support.
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5+ | |
| Refugee / conflict | 3% | 12% | 13% | 21% | 29% | 41% |
| Sustainability / animal / wildlife | 23% | 31% | 28% | 32% | 42% | 47% |
| Food / poverty | 30% | 35% | 38% | 42% | 53% | 56% |
| Education | 12% | 9% | 8% | 12% | 7% | 18% |
| Arts / culture / community | 1% | 7% | 4% | 9% | 5% | 12% |
| Mental health | 27% | 25% | 32% | 34% | 31% | 37% |
| Health / disease – cancer related | 32% | 34% | 44% | 48% | 39% | 45% |
| Children’s charities | 16% | 31% | 33% | 28% | 30% | 38% |
| Humanitarian aid / disaster relief | 7% | 16% | 20% | 32% | 42% | 47% |
| Health / disease – non-cancer related | 19% | 20% | 30% | 33% | 25% | 32% |
| Housing | 15% | 11% | 15% | 25% | 19% | 25% |
| All causes listed | 3% | 7% | 5% | 10% | 7% | 12% |
Final thoughts
This study does not indicate whether more frequent donations are lower in value. What it does show is the tension between words, actions, and perceived reality. When considering the target audience for charity campaigns, marketers often overvalue those people who say they care the most for the cause. This happens because we automatically assume that they will be more likely to donate. But our findings show that donation and interest do not always go together, especially as urgency comes into play.
Research into charitable behaviour can be tricky as external factors like social pressure also dictate what people feel comfortable admitting to. For instance, 8% of the respondents said that all causes listed are important to them. This type of answer is as likely to signal deep care for the state of the world as it is to hint at anxiety, apathy or resignation, caused by recent economic and geopolitical upheavals. Although all respondents were more likely to say that they care about a cause than to donate to it, what did shift the scale was how relevant the cause was to the area they live in. Therefore, to increase your chances of success with both frequent and infrequent donors, aim to show the tangible, relatable, localised impact of the work that your charity does. As mental availability can be tougher for charities to maintain in times of prolongued polycrisis and proliferation of purpose messaging by high-spending consumer brands, remember to stay close to your audience – they are the source of the best insight on how to win.
Do reach out if you would like to continue the discussion or are interested in finding out more about our regional analysis.