Generous Scots break £1bn barrier in donations
SCOTS increased their donations to charity last year, breaking through the £1 billion barrier – even though there was a dip in the number of people giving money away.
The report by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has revealed there was a 50 per cent rise of around £400 million in donations in 2017, with the total given away estimated to be about £1.2bn.
Researchers said the rise was the result of the same number of people giving more, with the typical donation going up from £36 in 2016 to £60 in 2017.
It is believed the slight decrease in the number of people donating money may be the result of a drop in trust in charities.
Anna Fowlie, chief executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), said: “The findings from CAF’S report are fairly positive as they show that although the number of people giving has decreased, the amount of money being donated to charities in Scotland has gone up, which is great.
“Figures released by SCVO in February 2018 showed that while trust in charities in Scotland is still high, it has dropped by nine per cent over the last two years, which may help explain why the number of people giving is down.
“However, our survey also showed that trust in local charities remains strong, particularly where people had personal experience of a charity.”
The CAF’S Scotland Giving report states that, in 2017, 63 per cent of Scots questioned said they had donated money to charity compared to 65 per cent in 2016. The report said: “This leads to a key policy question about how to encourage giving and whether it should focus on getting more people to give or getting those who give to give more, or indeed, a combination of both.”
The Institute of Fundraising said the dip in donors may be because charities are focusing on giving “existing supporters an even better experience” instead of concentrating on attracting new supporters.
Alex Close, head of Scotland at the Institute of Fundraising, said: “We’re pleased to hear that the generosity of the Scottish public continues . The increase is likely to be caused by a combination of factors, rather than one single reason, including people
Our survey also showed that trust in local charities remains strong
feeling more financially secure, or a great experience with a charity that inspires them to increase their regular donation.
“Many charities have been focusing even more on giving existing supporters a great donor experience and inspiring them to increase their regular donations.”
CAF found that Scotland accounts for 11.8 per cent of all UK charitable donations, despite representing 8.4 per cent of the UK’S population.
However, experts in the third sector warned in February that donations to Scottish charities could be damaged by the Oxfam sex scandal and public trust could be hit hard. Oxfam workers in Haiti were accused of paying prostitutes and holding “Caligula-style” orgies, with participants allegedly including under-age girls, in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake there.