1 Member Findings

Christmas Donations An Amárach Report // February 2015 //

2 Member Findings

2015 Survey

This report details the findings from a survey of charities undertaken

by Amárach Research on behalf of Fundraising Ireland.

A total of 55 charities participated in the 2015 survey, down from 76

in 2014 and up from 26 in 2013.

As in 2014, most interviews were undertaken by phone: 54

participated by phone and 1 participated online.

Fieldwork was undertaken in late January and early February 2015,

comparisons are made with previous surveys where appropriate.

The objective of the study was to update findings from previous

years in relation to Christmas and annual donations, as well as

including new questions in relation to fundraising channels.

Trends Report

Christmas

2014

4 Member Findings

How Was It?

The general public said they gave more at Christmas – did charities

see it in their own performance?

This section looks at the trend since 2012 in the sources of

donations, numbers donating and value of donations as a valuable

guide to understanding the contribution of donations at Christmas.

As in previous waves of the research, there is an enormous variation

in numbers and amounts across the spectrum of charities in the

survey, reflecting in turn the huge differences in scale of some

charities compared to others.

However, for consistency of reporting, we have used mean scores

where appropriate to show the historic trend.

5 Member Findings

One Year On

Q. During the Christmas appeal period, 15th November 2014 – 14th January 2015,

did you receive voluntary income (donations) from any of the following sources?

67%

54%

8%

70% 62%

12%

96%

80%

29%

General Public Corporate Donations Trusts

12/13 13/14 14/15

There was an across-the-board increase in Christmas donations across all three sources in

2014 compared to 2013.

Base = 55

6 Member Findings

€196,000

€204,000

€225,000

2012 2013 2014

Q. How much voluntary income did your organisation receive from the general public

over the Christmas appeal period? Average for each year 2012-2014

Income from the general public was up an average 10% on the previous year, reflecting

improvements in donating behaviour in the separate survey of donors.

Base = 53

Christmas Appeal Revenues: The General Public I

7 Member Findings

Christmas Appeal Revenues: The General Public II

1,900 2,000

2,400

2012 2013 2014

Q. How many members of the general public made separate donations to your organisation

during this time? Average per organisation 2012-2014

A key driver in the growth of Christmas donations from the general public was the surge in

the numbers donating, well ahead of the amount donated overall.

Base = 53

8 Member Findings

Christmas Appeal Revenues: Companies I

€58,900 €60,000

€67,000

2012 2013 2014

Q. How much voluntary income did your organisation receive from companies

over the Christmas appeal period? Average for each year 2012-2014

Income from companies rose by 12%, faster than from the general public.

Base = 44

9 Member Findings

Christmas Appeal Revenues: Companies II

47

41

48

2012 2013 2014

Q. How many companies made separate donations to your organisation during this time?

Average per organisation 2012-2014

The average number of companies donating has returned to its 2012 level.

Base = 44

10 Member Findings

€18,000

€23,000

2013 2014

Q. How much voluntary income did your organisation receive from Trusts

over the Christmas appeal period? Average for each year 2013-2014

Income from Trusts was up in 2014, though remains a small part of total

Christmas Appeal income (n.b.: not asked in 2012) – the average no. of trusts

was 3 in each year.

n.b.: small base Base = 16

Christmas Appeal Revenues: Trusts

11 Member Findings

€1,609,000

€1,717,000

€1,828,000

2012 2013 2014

Q. How much did you raise in fundraising income in the total year? Average 2012-2014

The growth evident in 2013 continued into 2014, with average income from fundraising

rising by just over 6% in the year as a whole.

Base = 55

2014 Performance

12 Member Findings

Looking Ahead to Christmas 2015

2014 appears to have ended on a very positive note for the charities

in the survey, showing some continued momentum evident in the

previous survey.

The year as a whole saw further growth after the previous year’s

improvements in terms of average revenues from fundraising.

This confirms the picture in the general public survey of donors

reported separately – and suggests that the improving economic

situation is finally translating into improving revenues for charities.

Nevertheless, there is some evidence that the number of donors in

different categories has grown faster than the amounts donated, so a

key task for the 2015 Christmas Appeals period will be to convince

‘new’ donors to donate more next time round.

Trends Report

Channel

Options

14 Member Findings

Targeting Audiences

We added a number of questions to the 2015 charities survey to

explore attitudes concerning the use of different media and channels

for targeting different audiences.

The first table overleaf shows the topline preferences of charities for

using different channels to target discrete age groups.

The second table looks at the actual experience fundraisers have

had in generating responses from different channels.

While email and direct mail are quite low in the channel

consideration set for targeting different age groups, they actually

perform better than other channels on the basis of previous

experience with response rates.

15 Member Findings

A Matter of Age

Q. Considering the different ways you might use to reach your target audience,

which channel are you more likely to use when reaching for the following age groups:

It is clear that charities consider a much wider range of channels to reach older donors

relative to younger donors.

Base = 55

16 Member Findings

Reaching Your Target

Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following:

I get more response from my target audience with...

Past experience suggests that the more personal the message the better the response –

and both email and direct mail out-perform other media on this measure.

Base = 55

17 Member Findings

A Turning Point

Much has changed in the charity landscape over the past few years.

In addition to concerns about trust and effectiveness, the wider

economic situation suppressed donations from both the general

public and from companies.

Moreover, the rapid adoption of the internet, smartphones and social

media gathered pace these past few years – despite the economy –

creating new opportunities and challenges for fundraisers.

However, we appear to be at an important turning point in the

economy and – perhaps – in the national zeitgeist in relation to

charities and donations.

The positive turn evident in both this survey and the general public

survey bode well for 2015 and should encourage fundraisers to set

the bar higher in the year ahead.

Trends Report

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