People donate less money and time to charities, survey finds

Despite growing affluence in Irish society, people are donating less money and time to charities, according to a survey published yesterday.

The 1997/98 National College of Ireland (NCI) survey, the third in a series, showed there was no significant change in the number of people giving money to charities. However, the average monthly donation per person has dropped from £8.87 in 1992 (and £7.31 in 1994) to £7.17 last year.

The NCI is the former College of Industrial Relations in Ranelagh, Dublin.

The report predicts this figure may decrease further with the introduction of the euro, "as it may be seen as equivalent to present coinage and this could lead to a 20 per cent drop in donations."

Based on 1,181 face-to-face interviews, the survey also found that only 50 per cent of respondents perceived charities as honest, and almost one third were concerned about the accountability of such organisations.

In relation to giving time in support of charities, the study found the percentage of people volunteering had fallen from 39 per cent in 1992 (and 35 per cent in 1994) to 33 per cent last year. It also noted that volunteers were willing to give up only a modest five hours per month to charity work.

Dr Helen Ruddle of NCI's policy research centre said the findings highlighted the Government's "critical role in promoting the responsibility of giving and in facilitating it through appropriate legal and fiscal frameworks."

Senator Mairin Quill of the Progressive Democrats said there was an urgent need to introduce regulatory legislation in order to restore public confidence in the charity sector.

"There is far too much laxity and too little accountability" in the sector, she said.

The most popular form of donation remains the church gate collection, which accounted for 43 per cent of donors. Flag days attracted 30 per cent of donors and raffle tickets 29 per cent.

Other findings included:

87 per cent of respondents had given money to charity in the month before being interviewed, and the majority had given more than once;

Voluntary organisations received between £210 million and £270 million in individual donations last year;

Most donations occurred spontaneously in response to an appeal or approach;

80 per cent of respondents agreed "there are so many charities it is difficult to decide which one to give to";

Half of the respondents said they were "tired of being asked to give money to all sorts of causes";

Between January 1997 and February 1998, volunteers contributed the equivalent of 78,000 to 114,000 work years to charities;

More women than men volunteer;

Middle-aged people give significantly more time to volunteering than those in their 20s and 30s, and those over 70 years of age;

People for whom religion is important give significantly more time to informal volunteering than those who attach little or no importance to religion in their lives.

In the case of formal volunteering, the survey found the most commonly undertaken activity was committee work (41 per cent of volunteers). This was followed by fundraising (26 per cent of volunteers) and church related activities (16 per cent).

Senator Quill said she had repeatedly called "on successive governments to introduce modern legislation to regulate this multimillion pound sector and, additionally, to appoint a national commission to oversee the working of our charities.

"Unless and until this is done, public confidence will continue to be eroded and very good and deserving causes will lose out."