First published at www.ilcuk.org.uk
It has long been the case that older people donate more to charity than younger generations. But it is worrying to learn about the growing giving gap between young and old?
Research published today by the Charities Aid Foundation highlights a “long-term crisis of giving – with new generations failing to match the generosity of people born in the inter-war years”.
The research reveals that in 1980, 29% of over-60s gave to charity, compared with 23% of under-30s. Looking today, the number of over-60s who claimed to have donated to charity in the previous fortnight had risen to 32%. The figure for under-30s was just 16%.
More than half of all donations to charity (52 per cent) now come from the over-60s, compared to just over one-third (35 per cent) thirty years ago.
So why might this be and what can be done about?
One argument might be that younger people today are more squeezed than previous generations. However, younger people in the 1980s faced their own economic pressures, and the report reveals that older people give more as a share of their total spending.
Worryingly, the report suggests that the ‘generosity gap’ has widened over the past three decades. The over-60s are now more than six times more generous than the under-30s compared to less than three times more generous, thirty years ago.
Over recent years, the fundraising sector has placed significant focus on targeting younger donors. Face to Face fundraising, which attracts widespread criticism, is one example of a technique partly motivated by attracting younger donors. Talking face to face about a cause can be a good way to engage younger people.
Similarly, the move towards new and innovative ways of giving using new technology is also often targeted at younger people.
There are some very sensible suggestions in the CAF report, including the need to get younger people engaged as charity trustees and the promotion of “living legacies”. Yet perhaps charities should also think about how they can use older people to motivate, engage and support family and other younger community members into charitable giving.
More fundamentally, the real worry painted by the research is of a long-term decline in the proportion of households giving to charity.
David Sinclair
My colleagues, Lyndsey Mitchell and Jessica Watson (aged 30 and 24), are currently training for a charity assault-course run to raise funds for The Peace Hospice. You can sponsor them here.
‘Mind The Gap – The growing generational divide in charitable giving: a research paper’.
It has long been the case that older people donate more to charity than younger generations. But it is worrying to learn about the growing giving gap between young and old?
Research published today by the Charities Aid Foundation highlights a “long-term crisis of giving – with new generations failing to match the generosity of people born in the inter-war years”.
The research reveals that in 1980, 29% of over-60s gave to charity, compared with 23% of under-30s. Looking today, the number of over-60s who claimed to have donated to charity in the previous fortnight had risen to 32%. The figure for under-30s was just 16%.
More than half of all donations to charity (52 per cent) now come from the over-60s, compared to just over one-third (35 per cent) thirty years ago.
So why might this be and what can be done about?
One argument might be that younger people today are more squeezed than previous generations. However, younger people in the 1980s faced their own economic pressures, and the report reveals that older people give more as a share of their total spending.
Worryingly, the report suggests that the ‘generosity gap’ has widened over the past three decades. The over-60s are now more than six times more generous than the under-30s compared to less than three times more generous, thirty years ago.
Over recent years, the fundraising sector has placed significant focus on targeting younger donors. Face to Face fundraising, which attracts widespread criticism, is one example of a technique partly motivated by attracting younger donors. Talking face to face about a cause can be a good way to engage younger people.
Similarly, the move towards new and innovative ways of giving using new technology is also often targeted at younger people.
There are some very sensible suggestions in the CAF report, including the need to get younger people engaged as charity trustees and the promotion of “living legacies”. Yet perhaps charities should also think about how they can use older people to motivate, engage and support family and other younger community members into charitable giving.
More fundamentally, the real worry painted by the research is of a long-term decline in the proportion of households giving to charity.
David Sinclair
My colleagues, Lyndsey Mitchell and Jessica Watson (aged 30 and 24), are currently training for a charity assault-course run to raise funds for The Peace Hospice. You can sponsor them here.
‘Mind The Gap – The growing generational divide in charitable giving: a research paper’.
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