Over 26 million think supporting armed forces charities is a duty, poll finds
11 August 2019
New research shows that half of us – around 26 million people – believe we have a duty as a society to donate our money or time to help armed forces charities and veterans.
That’s according to the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), which commissioned the polling. Seven in 10 of us, or around 37 million people, said Remembrance Day (11 November) is a good opportunity to raise money and publicity for armed forces charities.
This year marks 101 years since the end of the First World War. A wide range of tributes and commemorations have taken place up and down the country. Official commemoration events on Remembrance Sunday included The Queen and the Prince of Wales attending a ceremony at the Cenotaph along with senior members of The Royal Family.
“Charities such as the Royal British Legion do a great job of inspiring the public to support veterans and their families, reaching people from all walks of life,” says CAF’s Head of Research Susan Pinkney.
The polling also asked people if anniversaries such as Armistice Day or D-Day made them likelier to donate their money or time to help an armed forces charity. Nearly half (47%) said these anniversaries do make us more likely to get involved.
Last year, data revealed that the annual income of armed forces charities in the UK rose from £716 million in 2012 to £952 million in 2016. The amount left to armed forces charities in people’s wills also shot up – from £35 million in 2012 to £49 million in 2016.
Methodology
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,112 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between the 18th and 24th October 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 16+). The numbers included are based on a UK population of 52 million of those aged 16+.