Almost half of adults in the UK want charities to become more political to force change in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis, a survey has found.
The creative company the Good Agency joined with the pollsters YouGov for part two of its Cost of Giving Monitor, with the aim of giving charity fundraisers insights into people’s changing attitudes and habits.
Among the latest findings was that, out of a sample 2,002 adults, 45 per cent wanted a more politicised approach from the voluntary sector, up from 31 per cent last year.
The other findings include:
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Three out of four believe more people in the UK need support now than they did in the Covid pandemic
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In the next three months, one in five charitable givers will cut back but one in 10 say they will give more
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More people are likely to cut back on energy for their home (35 per cent) than on their charitable giving (12 per cent).
The Cost of Giving Monitor was inspired by a charity chief executives’ roundtable, hosted by the Good Agency, which revealed a pressing need for insight and data on the cost of living crisis and its impact on individual giving in the UK.
For the second wave, Good hosted a roundtable with the operational leaders of charities to assess whether attitudes had shifted compared with wave one.
The survey that accompanied the roundtable found 59 per cent of people felt that their finances were worsening – up from 53 per cent.
On the subject of giving, 16 per cent of those who have donated more than £50 in the last three months are increasing their giving, while 22 per cent of light givers (less than £50 in the last three months) are cutting back.
Chris Norman, chief executive of the Good Agency, said: “The second wave of the Cost of Giving Monitor not only provides an important insight into how the cost of living crisis is influencing people’s behaviour but also how it is shaping their views on the role charities should play in influencing government policy.
“People understand that this downturn could take some time to get through. Still, their expectations are significantly hardening towards charity’s role in informing policy to mitigate the impact of the crisis, as well as influencing the speed and shape of the recovery.”
He added: “It’s not unusual for the public to become more politically engaged in a downturn, but the level of expectation of charities to step up and use their weight to make life better for those affected is significant.”