Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The impact of COVID-19 on charitable giving
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- Figure 1: Short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on charitable giving, August 2020
- The market
- Number of charities continues to grow
- Indicators suggest a fall in charity-sector income in 2020
- Smaller charities continue to fall behind
- Companies and brands
- Advertising expenditure continues to slow
- Charities move away from unpopular direct-mail strategy
- Digital still accounts for only a small proportion of charity adspend
- The consumer
- Surge in support for NHS charities cannibalises giving to other health and medical-research charities
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- Figure 2: Types of charitable cause donated to in last six months, April 2020 vs March 2019 vs December 2017
- Cash donations continue to fall…
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- Figure 3: How people have donated money to charity in last six months, April 2020 vs March 2019 vs December 2017
- …as online becomes a more important source of income generation
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- Figure 4: Ways in which online donations were made to charities in last six months, April 2020 vs March 2019 vs December 2017
- Donations fall back as COVID-19 outbreak hampers households’ finances
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- Figure 5: Mean donation given to charity in last month, by age and gender, April 2020 vs March 2019 vs December 2017
- Donated goods rise again
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- Figure 6: Other charitable activities conducted in last six months, April 2020 vs March 2019 vs December 2017
- Consumers keen to support smaller organisations
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- Figure 7: Selected attitudes towards bigger and smaller charities and payment options, April 2020
- Developing the online retail offering
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- Figure 8: Selected consumer attitudes towards charity shops, April 2020
COVID-19 and Charitable Giving
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- Impact on the market
- COVID-19 outbreak to impact charity incomes
- The impact of COVID-19 on volunteering
- Impact on consumers
- Virus concerns accelerate shift away from cash
- The growing need for a stronger digital fundraising strategy
- Consumers tighten their belts
- Impact on charities
- Larger organisations will survive and eventually thrive…
- …but the outlook is less positive for smaller charities
Issues and Insights
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- COVID-19 will accelerate shift away from cash
- The growing need for a stronger digital fundraising strategy…
- …and an online retail offering
- Bridging the gap between bigger and smaller charities
The Market – Key Takeaways
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- Mintel predicts fall in charitable donations in 2020
- Number of charities grows at slower pace
- Smaller charities continue to fall behind
- COVID-19 drives surge in volunteering
- Fears for the year ahead set in
- Economic turmoil and unemployment put consumers under yet more pressure
Market Size
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- The impact of COVID-19 on charitable giving
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- Figure 9: Short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on charitable giving, August 2020
- Lockdown
- Re-emergence
- Recovery
- Number of charities continues to grow
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- Figure 10: Number of charities, England and Wales, 2009-19
- Indicators suggest fall in charitable incomes in 2020
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- Figure 11: Charities’ annual income, by income type, England and Wales, March 2018-December 2019
- Larger charities continue to outpace the sector…
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- Figure 12: Charities’ annual income, by income band, England and Wales, March 2018-December 2019
- …while smaller charities continue to fall behind
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- Figure 13: Number of charities in each income bracket, England and Wales, March 2018-December 2019
- Volunteering levels continue on a downward path in 2019
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- Figure 14: Any formal or informal volunteering (NET), online and paper estimates, England, 2013/14-2018/19
- The impact of COVID-19 on volunteering
- The importance of younger volunteers for charity shops
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- Figure 15: Participation in any formal or informal volunteering (NET), online and paper estimates, England, by age, 2018-19
Market Drivers
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- Consumer confidence remains high…
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- Figure 16: Financial wellbeing index, January 2018-July 2020
- …but fears for the year ahead set in
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- Figure 17: Trends in consumer sentiment for the coming year, January-July 2020
- Wage growth plummets…
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- Figure 18: Headline CPI inflation (12-month percentage change) vs average weekly earnings (3-month average), January 2012-June 2019
- …while economic turmoil and unemployment will put consumers under yet more pressure
Companies and Brands – Key Takeaways
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- Advertising expenditure continues to slow
- Charities move away from unpopular direct-mail strategy
- Digital still accounts for only a small proportion of charity adspend
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Advertising expenditure continues to slow
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- Figure 19: Total above-the-line, online display and direct-mail advertising expenditure by charities, January 2016-July 2020
- Charities move away from unpopular direct-mail strategy
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- Figure 20: Total above-the-line, online display and direct-mail advertising expenditure by charities, by media type, January 2016-July 2020
- Digital still accounts for only a small proportion of charity adspend
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- Figure 21: YoungMinds ‘#5YearOldSelfie’ campaign, August 2019
- Cancer Research courts controversy with obesity awareness ads
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- Figure 22: Total above-the-line, online display and direct-mail advertising expenditure by charities, by leading charities (based on top 10 for 2019), January 2016-July 2020
- Cancer and health charities dominate spending
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- Figure 23: Total above-the-line, online display and direct-mail advertising expenditure by charities, by charity type, January 2016-July 2020
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
The Consumer – Key Takeaways
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- COVID-19 drives consumers in-home
- Health and medical-research causes remain popular
- Climate change is more important for younger generations
- Cash donations continue to fall
- Lockdown dents contactless donations
- Donation level dips
- The importance of expanding online charity retail
- Consumers keen to support smaller organisations
- Emphasising the unusual
Impact of COVID-19 on Consumer Behaviour
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- COVID-19 drives consumers in-home…
- …and online
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- Figure 24: Proportion of consumers shopping more online since the start of the outbreak, 16 April-15 July 2020
Charitable Causes Donated To
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- Health and medical-research causes remain popular…
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- Figure 25: Types of charitable cause donated to in last six months, April 2020 vs March 2019 vs December 2017
- …but did desire to support NHS cannibalise other health and medical-research giving?
- Climate change is more important for younger generations
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- Figure 26: Proportion of adults who gave to environmental causes in the last six months, by age, April 2020 vs March 2019 vs December 2017
How People Donate Money
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- Cash donations remain most common type of donation…
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- Figure 27: How people have donated money to charity in last six months, April 2020 vs March 2019 vs December 2017
- …but COVID-19 will only accelerate the shift away from cash
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- Figure 28: Ways in which cash donations were made to charities in last six months, April 2020 vs March 2019 vs December 2017
- Lockdown dents contactless donations
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- Figure 29: How people have donated money to charity in last six months, cash vs contactless, by age, April 2020
- Digital payments continue to grow in popularity…
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- Figure 30: How people have donated money to charity in last six months – online, by age, April 2020 vs March 2019
- …underlining the importance of digital strategy
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- Figure 31: Ways in which online donations were made to charities in last six months, April 2020 vs March 2019 vs December 2017
How Much Money People Donate
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- Donation level dips
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- Figure 32: Mean donation given to charity in last month, by age and gender, April 2020 vs March 2019 vs December 2017
- Giving appears highest among younger adults…
- …but falling donations among age groups with higher financial responsibilities is significant
- The impact of financial confidence on donation levels
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- Figure 33: Mean donation given to charity in last month, by employment status and household financial confidence, April 2020
Other Charitable Activities Conducted
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- Donated goods rise again
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- Figure 34: Other charitable activities conducted in last six months, March 2019 vs December 2017
- Opportunity for retail partners
- The importance of expanding online charity retail
Attitudes towards Charitable Giving
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- Consumers keen to support smaller organisations
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- Figure 35: Selected attitudes towards bigger and smaller charities, April 2020
- Taking inspiration from the accelerator and incubator projects
- Emphasising the unusual
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- Figure 36: Selected consumer attitudes towards charity shops, April 2020
- The importance of contactless payments in future
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- Figure 37: Selected attitudes towards methods of donating to charity, April 2020
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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