by Isaac Jones
The State of UK Giving – a response from First Give
The latest Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) UK Giving Report is a wake-up call for all of us in the sector. Fewer than half of Britons gave to charity last year and many, especially younger people, say they just didn’t feel connected. This isn’t just about money. It’s about relevance, trust, and how we bring people back into the story of giving. How do we rebuild that sense of connection and purpose?
Neil Heslop, Charities Aid Foundation CEO
Reading through the latest CAF UK Giving Report over the last week has been a challenge. It paints a fairly bleak picture of a sector struggling under the weight of a cost of living crisis, and a population less likely to give to charity. There are many reasons why people, especially young people might not give. 44% of respondents told CAF that they couldn’t afford it. Whilst not surprising, this is a worrying statistic indeed! But one stat particularly stood out for me. 34% of 16-24 year olds indicated “a lack of interest in charities”. This compared to 29% of the whole sample.
It is perhaps no surprise that young people are less likely to give to charity or engage in civic activities. Ever since I started working in the sector 15 years ago, charities were discussing how to engage a new generation of donors. In these meetings and discussions I always felt the lens we were looking through was wrong. We spoke about them as a tap to be turned on. Things have changed a lot over the interceding years. Thanks in part to movements like the #iwill movement and others. There is a clearer understanding of the double benefit of youth social action. Positive impact for the participating young person as well as the community they support. Indeed in the CAF report, the point is made that “the act of giving itself can build connection between people and places, bring us together and help us to understand each other better”.
Engaging young people with giving
In Neil Heslop’s introduction to the CAF report, he asks the question of how we “rebuild that sense of connection [to giving and charity] and purpose”. This is a tricky question, but as far as we’re concerned at First Give, it is absolutely the right one. There are many pieces to the puzzle of building connection to the wider story of giving. At First Give we are doing our part through our programming, delivered in partnership with schools across England and Wales. We create opportunities for young people to be inspired and empowered to give to the causes that matter to them.
In their paper, Engaging children in meaningful charity: Opening-up the spaces within which children learn to give, Body, Lau and Josephidou say that whilst most children engage in charitable giving, “Children’s willingness to engage increases when they critically examine the cause area and are facilitated to lead on giving decisions, often resulting in increased and sustained efforts to support cause areas that matter to them.”
This principle is central to our work, and addresses the key challenge of the latest CAF report. The starting point of our flagship programme is social issues. Students reflect on the issues affecting their community and the people within it. Those discussions open up space to critically examine the causes of social issues and how they can make a difference. This happens through classroom activities. But also through the real world experience of meeting representatives from charities working in their local area. And of course, the young people take action to support their chosen charities.
Children’s willingness to engage increases when they critically examine the cause area and are facilitated to lead on giving decisions, often resulting in increased and sustained efforts to support cause areas that matter to them.
In the midst of what feels like a really challenging time for the charity sector and society as a whole, the young people taking part in the First Give programme give us hope. This month alone, over 4,000 students at our partner schools will take part in their schools First Give Final. Students are facilitated to lead on giving decisions; they build a stronger sense of connection to their community and their innate generosity is unleashed.
First Give’s ambition
With the need greater than ever, it is time for us to do more. We have an ambitious aim. By 2034, we will have reached one million young people through our programming. This will only be possible with the ongoing support of partner schools across the country, and of course the generosity of funders. There is a huge amount of work to do, but if you, like me, are inspired by young people and their commitment to social change, I invite you to join us in our mission. Come and attend a First Give Final; donate to our work; connect us to more schools. Help us as we shape a more generous society where all people are able and willing to give their time, money and skills to the causes they care about.
Isaac Jones, First Give Director