South Africans are generous donors
Spirit of ubuntu alive in successful crowdfunding campaigns
FRIDAY MARCH 23 2018
SOUTH Africans are generous and over the years have given millions to those in need. Backabuddy, a crowdfunding organisation started by Allan Beuthin, has seen over 2 200 campaigns and is one of the ways South Africans take part in giving back.
One of the latest campaigns, involving three-year-old Aaron Lipschitz who needs funds to help treat his rare disease that affects his immune system, has already raised close to R1.5 million.
Spokesperson for the organisation, Zane Groenewald, said while international donations come in, local donations made up a large number of the donors.
“South Africans make up over 80% of our donor base and 20% of donations on our site are from international donors. South Africans are very generous when it comes to causes that resonate with them. The spirit of ubuntu that has built our democracy is very evident today.”
He said that this year, two individual campaigns for medical reasons made over R1.25m each.
Judith Mtsewu, Knowledge manager at Charities Aid Foundation South Africa, a leading international charity, said South Africans are giving back.
“South Africans give back mainly in two ways, namely through giving money and by giving their time. The actual findings in this regard are that 81% of those surveyed have given money through donation or sponsorship in the last 12 months and 61% of people surveyed had participated in some form of volunteering in the past 12 months.”
Mtsewu said that South Africa experienced a 6% point increase in its World Giving index score.
“That was driven by increases across all three giving behaviour. Donating money and volunteering rose by five percentage points while helping a stranger saw the largest increase, a seven percentage point increase to 72%.”
She added that giving back was very important to South Africans and that people surveyed said they were most likely to give money because they believed it could make a difference.