1. How the public is responding to charitable causes in the
current climate

2. What the presentation covers
Aim
 Attitudes to charitable giving
 Understanding the behaviour of donors
 New media v traditional
 Motivations and messages

3. Since the start of the recession more say they give but they
give less.
Source : NCVO

4. Health, children and animals are top of the charitable causes
Hit Parade
Health and
medicine 48%

5. Poverty and social care complete the top 5
What causes did you donate to in the last 3 months?. Base=1240

6. But charities report that donations are down and that donors
are changing the causes they support
Charity donations to the
top 500 down by £70m
Donations to the biggest
charities hardest hit
Donations to social
causes down from the
previous year
Donations to animal
welfare charities up
significantly

7. The ‘ask’ can determine how much is donated
£51+
£11-£50
Mailshot, £1-£10
6%
circulars and
emails result in Direct marketing from a charity 42%
the largest 52%
donations. Need to
10% connect and
I wasn’t prompted 27% develop a
relationship
63%
with this
group.
3%
Family / friend / colleague 25%
72%
3%
I saw an advert for the charity on the TV, radio or
24%
in a newspaper
73%
5%
International appeal / National TV event / Annual
22%
event
74%
3%
Street fundraiser / box collection / charity
13%
representative
85%
How much donated by type of ‘ask’. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

8. But we know not everyone agrees with giving to charity
Your reasons for not donating to charity in the last 3 months. Base=1240

9. In today’s climate you need to understand donor behaviour
Donor history

10. Being more responsive – know your audience
Understanding
your audience
is vital.
Demographics
Life-stage
Attitudes
Motivations
Donor history
Media
consumption

11. Meet Lisa
She has recently married, has
no children but does plan a
family Lisa checks her Facebook page and
Twitter feed more than once per
day
She reads the Daily Mail
She earns £36,000 p.a
and is confident of her
future financial situation
Lisa is female, 29 years old
Her favourite tv and lives in Leeds
programmes include
soaps, Sherlock and the
Blue Planet Lisa banks with HSBC
Lisa is a keen supporter of
environmental charities

12. Lisa is one of the 28% of people who received an email from a
charity in the last 3 months.
One third of all
emails that people
receive from a
charity talk about
specific projects
and how to donate
to support them.
Just over one
quarter talk about
the charities aims
and objectives
Which of the following have you seen from a charity in the last 3 months? Base 1993

13. The email had a positive outcome because after receiving it Lisa set up a
direct debit to give £10 a month to the charity to help their conservation work.
28% received an
email of which 13%
made a donation.
What did you do as a result of the email message? Base 540

14. Social v traditional media

15. A presence on social media can be a good way of generating
donations
15 per cent of Facebook users
and 16 per cent of Twitter users
made a donation after reading a
charity Facebook page or
receiving a tweet from a charity.

16. It can also help you connect with your target audience

17. Meet Harry
He doesn’t read
newsprint but catches He is on Facebook and checks it
up on his iPad. regularly
He earns £20,000 p.a and
He watches TV online via thinks he should start
BBC iPlayer and Sky Go saving soon
Harry is 23 years old and
lives in Exeter
Harry cycles everywhere.
Harry hasn’t really thought
about charities in the past.

18. Harry is one of the 20% of people who have seen a reference
to a charity on Facebook in the last 3 months
The Facebook
page Harry saw
gave details of the
aims of a charity
that promotes sport
to disadvantaged
youngsters.
24% of viewers of
charity Facebook
pages read about
the charities aims
and objectives,
20% read case
studies and 49%
on how to donate.
Which of the following have you seen from a charity in the last 3 months?

19. Social media can help you connect with potential supporters
in other ways.
The reaction that the Facebook reference to the charity caused. Base=540

20. Know your audience : some people prefer more traditional
‘asks’.

21. Meet Jack
He likes to play tennis Jack but doesn’t really use
and does jogging. social media
He watches BBC1, ITV He earns £50,000 p.a
and C4 and reads the
Guardian.
Jack is male, 58 years old and lives
in London
Jack is married with two Jack has a nearly paid off
teenaged children, a dog mortgage and has a
and two rabbits. Jack is an occasional giver to series of investment
charity products

22. Social media is not really a source of information for Jack’s
age group
In Jack’s age group
(55+) people are
much more likely to
get exposure to
charities through
traditional print and
broadcast media.
Which of the following have you seen from a charity in the last 3 months – Aged 55+

23. What do we know about motivations and messaging?

24. What motivates Lisa, Harry and Jack to get involved with a
charity?
Personal
experience/affinity
An expression of who
you are/reflects your
beliefs
Social and emotional
pressures
Wanting to make a
difference
They were asked to

25. In conclusion : what about the message?
Communicate in a
targeted way -
segmentation
Clear about aims of the
charity and intended
outcomes
Show how the money
will make a difference
Share news and
information
Communication should
be about building a
relationship

26. A strong relationship will protect your brand if things go wrong
9th August: BBC Newsnight
features an interview with
wounded servicemen criticising Likelihood to donate
how Help for Heroes invests its drops 10 points and takes
money one month to recover
Two weeks later Buzz
has fallen into negative
territory