Motivations for giving can be directly linked to a donor’s age group, new research has found.
Part two of the Tomorrow’s Donor Today research, which will be published in full next week, argues that UK donors can be divided into five categories based on their motivations for giving, which can be predicted based on an individual’s age group.
These are: ‘Protectors’, who researchers say are motivated by causes that directly affect them or their loved ones; ‘Believers’, who are moved by a compelling need and the belief their donation will make a tangible difference; ‘Pioneers’, who see donating as an expression of their values; ‘Responders’, who donate in response to a specific need or emergency event; and ‘Joiners’, who donate as part of social activity or to feel part of a group.
The study argues that where individuals fall within these donor groups can be closely predicted based on age, adding that these findings could “transform how charities structure their fundraising approach”.
The research, which is a collaboration between the agencies Eden Stanley and the Good Agency and the membership body the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, is based on views from an online nationally representative survey of 3,000 UK adults carried out between February and March.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents who fell within the Protectors category were older than 50, who typically valued tradition, security, preserving social norms and keeping loved ones safe.
This group was 44 per cent more likely than average to support hospitals and 25 per cent more likely to support military or veteran charities.
The youngest of these groups on average was the Joiners, who donate to feel part of a community, with 70 per cent of these respondents aged between 18 and 39.
This group was 80 per cent more likely than average to support religious groups, 72 per cent more likely to support UK human rights causes and 50 per cent more likely to support overseas development.
The research also found that age influenced people’s perceptions of charity more broadly, finding that those aged between 18 and 29 were 40 per cent less likely than the national average to trust national charities as a source of information. This group was more than twice as likely to instead trust social media influencers and 62 per cent more likely to trust celebrities.
Those aged between 30 and 39 were also reluctant to trust national charities, being 36 per cent less likely to trust these organisations for information.
In comparison, people over the age of 50 were 33 per cent more likely than average to trust national charities as a source of information. This group was 70 per cent less likely to trust social media influences and 45 per cent less likely to trust celebrities.
Eden Stanley said that understanding these different perceptions would enable “more effective decision-making around engagement strategies and campaign approaches, such as on brand partnerships or on which media channels to invest in, to target specific audiences”.
Joe Barrell, founder and director of Eden Stanley, said: “Our data shows that since the pandemic, people have been more and more interested in collective action and playing their part in driving change. To grab hold of this opportunity and secure the future of fundraising, charities need to understand what moves specific audiences to action.
“By identifying which donor types make up current supporter bases, and which audiences they should target – and how, charities will give themselves the best chance of boosting donations, and futureproofing their fundraising strategies.”