Majority of regular donors feel ‘pressurised’ to increase donations by fundraisers – BBC poll
Howard Lake | 25 September 2015 | News
A poll for BBC Radio 4’s PM programme has found that 52% of donors who give regularly to charity by standing order or direct debit say they feel “pressurised” into increasing their donations by fundraisers. Indeed, 18% say they feel under “a lot of pressure”.
The survey results were release on the same day as the publication of the review into fundraising self-regulation chaired by Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).
The poll was conducted for the PM programme by Populus, who interviewed a random sample of 1,006 British adults aged 18+ by telephone between 11 – 13 September. The results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.
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Poll findings
The poll found that:
• those aged 65 or older are the most generous age group and the most likely (61%) to donate in a planned way. The average figure for all British adults was 47%.
• slightly more women (50%), compared to 43% of men, said that they give to charity via direct debit or standing order
• 88% of people from a household with a combined annual income of between £69,001 and £76,000 said they give regularly to charity
• people from the South West are the most generous, with 60% of adults saying they donated to charity in a planned way, with Londoners second at 53%.
• 49% of people in the East gave regularly, followed by 47% of Scots and 40% of the Welsh.
Joanna Carr, Editor of BBC Radio 4’s PM, said:
“Since PM first reported on accusations of intrusive fundraising methods we have been inundated with comments from our audience, and we have heard on the programme from a range of voices, from different aspects of the charity world. With the tactics fundraisers use under scrutiny in this new review, we commissioned this poll to give us a better understanding of how much pressure charity-givers actually feel they are under to increase donations”.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.