UK Charity Insights Donation Trends
Giving Back Charities, who rely on the generosity of others, are in crisis.
Quantcast discovered emerging trends that reflect the changing consumer behaviour in the charity sector during the last 12 months, looking specifically at:
Charity Industry Trends
Quantcast Donation Data
The Opportunity
Sources *How Charities Work
**Pro Bono Economics, June 2020 – £10bn shortfall in the last six months of 2020
Charity Industry Trends
Shift from cash to virtual donations
59%
In 2019 59% of all donations tocharity were in cash*
Cash still remains the most popular way to donate, however, donations via a website or app increased from 13% in March to 24% in April.
The £10bn shortfall that UK charities faced in 2020 was driven by the loss in fundraising income, coupled with an increased demand for their services.
Heroes emerged during lockdown
Historically, during global recessions charitable giving remains steady, however the causes people choose to support may change. This can also result in onetime surges of giving in certain categories, aligned with a specific giving event or news story.
While regular donations remained steady, April saw a peak in one-off giving, largely associated with the inspirational feel good story of Captain Tom Moore’s 100th birthday walk for the NHS. From charity face masks to NHS rainbow t-shirts, purchasing clothing to support charities also gained momentum.*
11%
Gave to new causes related to the virus*
17%
Gave to charities which supported the NHS*
Quantcast Donation Data
Lockdown creates its own giving moment
Normally December is the biggest month for online donations (seeing a fairly typical 5.3x increase in December 2020), however, lockdown is a clear additional giving moment.
Comparing against a January 2020 baseline, during the first lockdown in April 2020, we saw online donations increase by 7x. This trend continued in January 2021 lockdown, with a 2.4x increase in online donations.
Holidays resonate with less affluent households
Looking at differences between the Lockdown and Christmas Donor, we can see that while they similarly skew female, 45+ with no children, the household income varies.
The Lockdown Donor is a more more affluent, at £50k+, compared to the Christmas Donor, at £30k+.
The holiday spirit drives less affluent households to give back.
Source: Quantcast, GB, Lockdown (Mar ‘20-May ‘20) & Christmas (Oct ‘20-Dec ‘20) vs. GB national average
Gender Female | Index 111
Age 45+ | Index 118
Children No | Index 109
Household income £30k+ | Index 109
- Gender Female | Index 109
- Age 45+ | Index 128
- Children No | Index 109
- Household income £50k+ | Index 108
Regular donors skew affluent and age 18-44
Charities actively search for generous givers who will commit to a regular donation.
Regular donors are 17% more likely to have an income of £50-70k, and can thus commit to a regular donation. They are also 19% more likely to be of the younger 18-44 year old age bracket than the one off donor, perhaps with less commitments.
Source: Quantcast, GB, single and regular donor vs. each other
- Gender Female | Index 104
- Age 18-44 | Index 119
- Children Yes | Index 106
- Household income £50-70k | Index 117
- Gender Male | Index 104
- Age 55+ | Index 122
- Children Neutral Index
- Household income £0-30k | Index 107
Single donations dominated our lockdown giving
Donations in lockdown and the festive period were notably dominated by an increase in one-off donations, perhaps driven by the financial uncertainty of months ahead and a sudden desire to give back.
Lockdown donors do more research
During lockdown, Britons were actively searching for ways to donate and charities to support, with searches peaking in April at 3.3x year-over-year.
December however, did not see a similar search trajectory, suggesting that annual holiday giving was to known charities where less research on options was needed.
Searches reflect lockdown mindset
First Lockdown: March to April 2020
During lockdown, Britons were actively searching for ways to donate and charities to support, with searches peaking in April at 3.3x year-over-year.
December however, did not see a similar search trajectory, suggesting that annual holiday giving was to known charities where less research on options was needed.
Holidays + Lockdown: October to December 2020
During the festive period, potential donors were searching for new ways to donate, including Paypal, cheque donations, wfh ideas, Christmas cards, and charity quiz. Themes of supporting Hospitals and the NHS remained strong during this period.
Greatest year-over-year surge in foodbank cause
Factors such as schools being closed, working from home, and job losses have meant new cohorts of people are relying on foodbanks. This has resulted in a 12x YoY surge in Foodbank interest in April 2020.
Other April YoY surges include 6x for Military, 5.6 for health & medical, and 2.3x for animal charities.
But health & medical remain the #1 cause
Searches for Foodbank charities may be up year-over-year, but Health & Medical charities remain our #1 cause.
Each charitable cause has a unique audience profile
People paused for applause
During Lockdown 1.0, every Thursday the UK stopped what it was doing and signed offline to #ClapForOurCarers* as a gesture of appreciation for National Health Service (NHS) workers.
Quantcast’s real-time first party data was able to capture this unique heartwarming moment, seeing a 96% decrease in UK online activity in the first two weeks of this event.
96%
Drop in UK online activity during #ClapForOurCarers applause**
The Opportunity
Inspire people to donate
Quantcast provided brand lift for Cancer Research
Quantcast, Cancer Research and MediaCom worked together on the launch of a powerful campaign ‘Cancer is Happening Right Now’, featuring stories that bring to life the reality that at any one time, somebody is battling cancer.
Quantcast helped users believe in their cause
Challenge: Increase awareness of the presence of cancer “cancer is happening right now” & drive donations.
Solution: Quantcast identified common search terms associated with charitable causes and the fight against cancer to identify like minded potential donors and served them high impact video ads.
Quantcast provided brand lift for Cancer Research
Quantcast, JAA and Disasters Emergency Committee worked together to raise awareness and funds after Cyclone Idai swept through Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Cyclone Idai left behind a trail of destruction and 2.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
Quantcast helped users believe in their cause
Challenge: The DEC messaging had to go live quickly, and reach as many potential donors to create awareness of this worthwhile cause, cost-effectively and at scale.
Solution: uantcast reached 4.46m online users and drove onsite conversions 3.1x higher than the site’s organic conversion rate, driving 2K+ donations for the DEC.**
UK Charity Insights 2021 Make sure your charity stands out
As Lockdown continues, charities will need to appeal to the goodwill and generosity of others in 2021, more so than any other year.
01
Be upfront about what your Charity will do with their donations*
02
Quickly respond to any changes in consumer behaviour & sentiment
03
Maximise your chance of donations by appealing to consumers who are actively displaying charitable behaviours by partnering with Quantcast.
60%
How the organisation uses their donation**
52%
Evidence that the charity is having an impact**