UK giving trends change as public favours ‘data-free’ donating

UK charitable giving remains high but the ways in which donors are choosing to give is adapting, according to new research on UK giving trends by Pennies, the digital charity box.

A poll of over 2,000 Brits reveals that as much as 85% of the public are put off giving by ‘follow up’ contact from non-profits. However, generosity towards charities has not decreased, with potential donors taking a heightened interest in how their money is spent (54.1%), and showing a preference for giving in smaller, more frequent ways, when they want to (71%).

Pennies CEO, Alison Hutchinson said:

“Independent research commissioned by Pennies tells us that the public’s generosity for charity giving isn’t changing, but the way in which they prefer to give is.

“A key challenge for the UK charity sector is the growing reticence in consumers for providing their contact data. This is to be expected given some high profile media coverage over the last year. Charities are increasingly looking for new and different ways to tap into the public’s enthusiasm for giving. One of the long standing ways to do this was charity collection boxes – but these are fast disappearing from our stores and streets.”

And this is where Pennies can help, suggests Hutchinson. Pennies provides a digital version of the traditional charity box, offering consumers the chance to anonymously donate anything from 1p to 99p when they pay by card at retailers they love, and across multi channels.

Continued Alison Hutchinson:

“It’s exciting to see consumers getting behind Pennies, with 26 million micro-donations being made in the last five years, raising over £6 million for communities and causes across the UK. Importantly these givers can rest assured Pennies collects no data, and follows the donation and not the donor.”

Retailers such as Domino’s Pizza, Topps Tiles, Screwfix, Shop’N Drive, The Entertainer and many more, use Pennies to raise money for charities that are meaningful to their customers – giving their small change a big purpose.