If the typical UK donor has been giving just £20 a month to charity for much of the last decade, what does the typical donor from the wealthiest 1% of British society give?

In my last post that highlighted the podcast with Giles Pegram, I also shared a series of links from LinkedIn to videos that I’ve produced looking at why individual giving in the UK is now £5 billion behind where it should be. I’ve just recorded a seventh video looking at the two most powerful factors that drive giving – wealth and age – you’ll find it below.

Click play and you’ll learn what the typical donor earning hundreds of thousands of pounds gives to charity each month. You’ll probably be shocked at how little it is. And you’ll find out who gives most and what has happened to them in their lives that drives their increased generosity.

I describe the four systemic reasons that suppress giving from the top 1% – it’s as much down to the behaviour of fundraisers as it is to the wealthy people themselves. We always need to remember that when we communicate, it’s the audience that dictates the terms of what information they retain.

I also highlight what it would mean for the sector if we could lift their giving to just 1% of their income.

You’ll also gain further insights into Bluefrog’s research on Sentinels – at Bluefrog we are moving away from defining donors based solely on their giving levels. Instead, we focus on responding to their need states to more effectively break down the barriers that restrict what they give and to give them a greater sense of satisfaction and impact.

There’s plenty more insight to share. The events of the last few years has radically changed how mid-value donors view their philanthropy and the charities they support. If you’d like to find out more about how you can refresh and reinvigorate your mid-value programme by changing how you ask and thank your supporters, please get in touch with me at [email protected] and I’ll take you through our most recent qualitative research findings – and show you what Bluefrog could achieve for you.

The fall in giving that we have seen is not permanent. We can turn the situation around, but it does require that we adopt a different approach to the audiences we focus on and how we engage with them.

Stats from the video come from two reports:

  1. Mind the Giving Gap published by Pro Bono Economics
  2. UK Giving published by CAF.