Drop in number of households using charities in last year, finds CAF report

21 Sep 2018 News

There has been a drop in the overall level of charity usage in the UK, Charity Aid Foundation’s latest report has shown.

Charity Street III is CAF's third report looking out how people and households use charitable services. It showed that around three quarters of households, 74 per cent, have used a charity in the past year, down from 83 per cent when it peaked in 2016 – when the last Charity Streets report was realised – and 79 per cent in 2014. It also showed that nine in ten households (90 per cent) reported having used a charity’s service at some point, down from 98 per cent in 2016.

However this drop puts the level of charity usage more in line with 2014, when the first report was released.

It also showed that almost 3 in 10 (29 per cent) were unaware that the service they or someone in their household had used was provided by a charity.

Yet it found that those who do use charities are using the services more frequently. The 74 per cent of households which reported using charities in the past 12 months used an average of 3.8 services, compared to 3.0 services in both 2016 and 2014. 

It showed that 18 per cent of households that access charities are now doing so at least once a week, up from 14 per cent in 2016.

Both of the two most used services have seen a decline in 2018. These are purchasing an item from a charity shop at 55 per cent, down from 64 per cent 2016 and 61 per cent 2014, and visiting a charity run gallery, museum, garden or stately home at 31 per cent, down from 37 per cent in 2016 and 34 per cent in 2014. 

Visiting a church or religious institution of charitable status is the only service to remain stable in 2018 at around a quarter of UK households.

Other findings:

  • Around three quarters (74 per cent) of those surveyed had used a charity service in the last 12 months.
  • Women and younger people are more likely to have personally used a charity, with 75 per cent of women accessing a charity in the last 12 months compared to 65 per cent in men. 
  • It also found that charities are best placed and most trusted to speak on behalf of the disadvantaged – 67 per cent felt that charities were best placed to speak on behalf of disadvantaged people and 56 per cent said they most trusted charities to do this.

John Low, chief executive of CAF, said in the foreword for the report: “Shockingly though, many of us simply don’t realise that we are benefitting from the work of charities and are supported by generous donations of time and money made by people up and down the land. 

"Around one in three people simply do not realise that the things they might take for granted are provided by one of the tens of thousands of charities across the country. That is something all of us in charities need to change.”

He also said: “And although there has been a drop in the proportion of people who use charities in the past year, there is no sign of the need for them decreasing. This research shows that those who do take advantage of what charities offer are using a wider variety of their services, whether that is renting a flat, or simply adopting a pet.”

Recommendations

Recommendations from the report include doing more work in reaching men across the UK, and for more work to be done championing the role of charities. 

It said that there is an opportunity for local governments to raise the profile of charitable organisations, particularly amongst the new directly elected mayors to develop a “clear vision for the role of philanthropy in their town, city or region”.

CAF’s report also said that levels of deprivation have a “clear impact on the types of charity service that households access, with those from the most deprived backgrounds significantly more likely to turn to charities that provide support or advice”.

It said: “Government and funders should examine links between charitable provision and deprivation, to ensure that charity support is accessible to those with the greatest need. Charities should work to ensure that their services are open and known to people from a wide range of backgrounds.”

The report is based on a survey conducted in 2018, which collected information about charity use from adults aged 18 and over in the United Kingdom. The survey ran between 21st and 29th March 2018. 

A total of 2,912 responses were collected and were weighted to be representative of the UK adult population.


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