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Charitable Giving: Inc Impact of COVID-19 - UK - July 2020

OVERVIEW
Key issues covered in this Report
COVID-19: Market context
Economic and other assumptions
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The impact of COVID-19 on charitable giving
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
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…
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
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
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
Figure 6: Other charitable activities conducted in last six months, April 2020 vs March 2019 vs December 2017
Consumers keen to support smaller organisations
Figure 7: Selected attitudes towards bigger and smaller charities and payment options, April 2020
Developing the online retail offering
Figure 8: Selected consumer attitudes towards charity shops, April 2020
COVID-19 AND CHARITABLE GIVING
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
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
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
The impact of COVID-19 on charitable giving 
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
Figure 10: Number of charities, England and Wales, 2009-19
Indicators suggest fall in charitable incomes in 2020
Figure 11: Charities’ annual income, by income type, England and Wales, March 2018-December 2019
Larger charities continue to outpace the sector…
Figure 12: Charities’ annual income, by income band, England and Wales, March 2018-December 2019
…while smaller charities continue to fall behind 
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
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
Figure 15: Participation in any formal or informal volunteering (NET), online and paper estimates, England, by age, 2018-19
MARKET DRIVERS
Consumer confidence remains high…
Figure 16: Financial wellbeing index, January 2018-July 2020
…but fears for the year ahead set in 
Figure 17: Trends in consumer sentiment for the coming year, January-July 2020
Wage growth plummets…
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
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
Advertising expenditure continues to slow 
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
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
Figure 21: YoungMinds ‘#5YearOldSelfie’ campaign, August 2019
Cancer Research courts controversy with obesity awareness ads 
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 
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
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
COVID-19 drives consumers in-home…
…and online
Figure 24: Proportion of consumers shopping more online since the start of the outbreak, 16 April-15 July 2020
CHARITABLE CAUSES DONATED TO
Health and medical-research causes remain popular…
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
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
Cash donations remain most common type of donation…
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
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
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… 
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 
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
Donation level dips
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 
Figure 33: Mean donation given to charity in last month, by employment status and household financial confidence, April 2020
OTHER CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED
Donated goods rise again
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 
Consumers keen to support smaller organisations
Figure 35: Selected attitudes towards bigger and smaller charities, April 2020
Taking inspiration from the accelerator and incubator projects
Emphasising the unusual
Figure 36: Selected consumer attitudes towards charity shops, April 2020
The importance of contactless payments in future
Figure 37: Selected attitudes towards methods of donating to charity, April 2020
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES, ABBREVIATIONS AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Abbreviations
Consumer research methodology

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