Detailed findings part 1

In this section we discuss the most popular ways people give in Wales and when they are likely to do so.  We look at the number of people who make use of Gift Aid, take part in social action, which parts of the community are most engaged and how people are likely to give.

giving last four weeks CAF Wales Giving 2019
    

The overall picture

All those interviewed were shown a list of behaviours and asked whether they had done any of these in the last four weeks or the last year. These include a range of charitable and social actions.

At an overall level, around nine in ten (89%) people in Wales have participated in at least one charitable or social action over the previous year.

This is a similar proportion compared to the UK as a whole (87%). When asked about participation in the last four weeks, 67% say they have participated, higher than the UK average of 64%.
  

Giving money

Giving money is the number one way in which people in Wales have participated in a charitable or social action, with 59% claiming to have donated money within the last year and just under a third (32%) claiming to have done so in the last four weeks. Both of these figures are in line with the UK average of 57% and 31% respectively.

Just under two fifths (37%) of people claimed to have sponsored someone for charity within the last year, whilst 10% had sponsored someone within the last four weeks. People in Wales appear to be more likely to sponsor someone for charity than across the UK as a whole, where 32% and 8% respectively had done so.
   

Peak giving months

  • The peak month for giving in Wales was November, when 48% claimed to have donated money to charity.
  • Although November and December were the main months for giving across the UK as a whole, neither of these months recorded as high a level as in Wales in November (39% for the UK as a whole).
  • The November figure coincides with a number of major national charity events in the lead up to interviewing such as Children in Need, Movember and the Poppy Appeal.

   
Gift Aid

Of those who donated money to charity, 47% said that they used Gift Aid on their donation, a lower level than the UK as a whole (51%). This may at least in part be due to the higher level of people giving via cash in Wales. This is something which could be looked into as it would be beneficial to charities across Wales and beyond to increase usage of Gift Aid further.
   

Giving time and goods

Volunteering

One in six people within Wales (17%) said they had volunteered for a charity over the last year, with 9% saying they had done so in the last four weeks. These figures are consistent with the UK as a whole.

Whilst women appear more likely to have volunteered than men within the last year (18% vs 15%), this is not a significant difference.

As with the UK as a whole, volunteering is most prevalent amongst full time students (28%), which is likely due to the higher level of free time available, as well as the encouragement schools and universities give to volunteer.
     
380x220_Volunteers

Giving goods

After donating money, giving goods is the second most common form of engaging with charities. 57% claimed to have given goods in the last year, and 27% in the last four weeks, both of which are in line with the UK as a whole.

Giving goods is largely prevalent among older people (39% of 65+s vs. 7% of 16–24s within the last four weeks) and women (36% vs. 19% men), which is the same pattern seen within the UK overall figures

Charitable and social action

At an overall level, around nine in ten (89%) people in Wales have participated in at least one charitable or social action over the previous year. This is a similar proportion compared to the UK as a whole (87%). When asked about participation in the last four weeks, 67% say they have participated, higher than the UK average of 64%. We will look at each of these measures in more detail in subsequent paragraphs.

Protesting and petitioning

Signing a petition is the third most popular charitable activity to be undertaken in the last year. Over half (52%) of those interviewed in Wales in 2018 had signed a petition in the previous year whilst 26% had done so over the previous four weeks.

These figures are slightly higher than those recorded for the UK as a whole where 49% had signed a petition in the last year. Our research also revealed:

  • Women are more likely to have signed a petition than men in the last year (55% vs. 49%)
  • 45–54 year olds are the least likely age group to have done so (43% vs. 52% on average across Wales)
  • 16-24 year olds are more likely to attend a protest (10% vs. 5% average)
  • A protest is the least common charitable activity to take part in of all those asked about

Who engages most?

Overall women are more likely to engage in charitable or social activities, with 73% having done so in the last year compared to 63% of men.Among all adults aged 65+, only 7% have not participated in at least one charitable or social action in the last year compared to 15% of 16–24s. These again are similar to the figures for the UK as a whole.

best describes how often you give caf wales giving 2019
     

Frequency of giving

When asked about how often they give to charity, over half of people in Wales state that they usually give to charity from time to time (53%), with a further quarter (24%) giving monthly.

One in twenty give weekly (5%).  We would define ‘regular giving’ as those who give weekly or monthly and when looked at in this way, fewer than one third (29%) give regularly.

Regular giving is highest amongst those aged 65+, with two fifths (40%) saying they give with this regularity. Men are twice as likely as women to say that they rarely or never give to charity (22% vs. 10%) which is in line with the UK average (26% vs. 13%).