Why don’t people give to charity? Ten reasons for not donating

As strong advocates of the third sector we’re obviously big fans of charities. We know first hand how valuable and impactful the work that our charity partners do is. And as a fundraising agency, we also understand that charitable donations are essential for making help happen.

However, not everyone is willing to donate to charity.

In the spirit of understanding the general public and their needs as much as we can, we’ve taken a deep dive into the reasons not to donate to charity.

Let’s break it down…

In 2020, a worldwide survey called the ‘Global Trends in Giving Report’ was released by funraise to examine and dissect all the reasons people give (or don’t) to charity.

The survey attracted 15,285 respondents of whom 1,817 shared that they hadn’t given money to charity for a year or more. So why were some people unwilling to give money to charity?

Their finances don’t stretch

42% of those surveyed said that financial resources were their reason, which made this the most common reason not to give.

The issue of financial constraints is a significant barrier to charitable giving, particularly in times of economic recession and job loss.

This has been a key problem for charities in the past few years as they’ve contended with the impact of Brexit, Covid19 and now the cost of living crisis.

Read about the impact of the cost of living crisis on the charity sector here

Quite simply, many people are already on a tight budget either because of the cost of living crisis or just because their money doesn’t stretch beyond their own needs.

“I have to think about my self and my family: food, shelter, clothing, emergency money, and retirement savings. The basic necessities to exist and not become a charity case yourself.” (source)

As a face to face fundraiser, it’s important to recognise that not everyone has the means to donate, and we should be very careful never shame individuals for not being able to contribute financially.

That said, it’s not always about not having enough money. Of those surveyed 7% said they simply prefer to spend their money on their family and friends than donate to charity.

They volunteer instead

22% of those who didn’t donate said they volunteer in lieu of giving money so in a sense, they donate without money, which is still extremely valuable!

Interestingly a recent article in the third sector talked about how the next generation of young adults are showing signs of being the most engaged in society. While they’re the most likely to protest, campaign and stage walk outs they’re unfortunately some of the poorest too.

Between 2018-19, the number of donors from Generation Z aged 16-24 fell from 80 to 73 percent. So why this sudden disengagement? Is it just a reflection on their financial position? 

When interviewed, Gen Z-er Duncan pointed out that many are in low-waged employment.

"We live in the gig economy, so many don’t have economic security and stability.

The cost of living has risen so much that many young people just can’t afford the lifestyles that previous generations were accustomed to."

So are they disengaged now with the charity sector?

Quite the contrary.

44% of that same age group have visited a charity website in the last 6 months and when questioned, 33% said they had volunteered in the last 6 months, which had increased from 27% in 2018.

This is a significantly higher percentage than any other age group.

They give goods or food instead of donating money

While some give time, others give ‘stuff’. This might be contributing to food banks or donating clothes to charity shops.

In fact, of those surveyed and responding that they didn’t donate money, 17% said they donated goods or food in lieu of that.

They don’t agree with the concept of charity

There are some people that argue that charity makes the problem worse because it applies a sticking plaster rather than addressing the root cause. It’s literally a case of ‘I don't do charity’

By continually helping the bottom line recipients, charity creates a dependency on aid and there is concern that charity is a substitute for actual justice.  

The whole idea of charitable giving comes under fire by those who think that governments should take responsibility.

Charity, from this perspective is seen as accepting the injustice and compensating the injustice with charitable action.

They don’t believe charities help

Of those surveyed that don’t donate to charity, 2% don’t believe that the organisations actually make a difference overall.

While most people agree that charity is always good, some think charities aren’t best placed to help, particularly if they’re not on the ground level. This train of thought might apply to giving money to foreign countries for example.

An example of misconception around foreign aid can be given by the United States, who give just 0.20% to foreign aid. The majority of Americans feel that America ‘gives too much to other countries’, but what’s most interesting is that when asked, most thought that between 5-10% would be an appropriate amount to give.

As it happens, The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals encourage all developed nations to reserve 0.7% of their gross national income to overseas aid which would help to ensure their global goals of better equality for all. This stat is actually lower than the credit card fee most incur when spending money abroad.

Just five countries globally meet this recommendation – The UK, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. 

Another point about sustainable giving is not disrupting local economies - for instance, by giving food to communities suffering extreme poverty might prevent local farmers from being able to price their crops.

It’s important to realise that handouts are not deemed sustainable, except in response to emergency situations like natural disasters, disease or crop failure.

That said, much of the work that charities do does deal with the root problems, such as researching to cure cancer or reducing poverty by providing the tools to help communities rebuild. These tools might include providing equipment, education or vaccinations. By aiding with these basic needs, people can contribute and improve their lives and local communities themselves.

Charities understand that overcoming such large issues are never simple. From politics to culture, social change can be slow and cumbersome.

Ethically there is always a tear between longer term investment for change or immediate remedy to prevent imminent death.

Whichever way you look at it, individual giving makes a huge difference to help society, whether to provide the immediate front line issues or as an investment for the future.

They don’t trust charities

12% of those who answered the survey said the reason they don’t give to charity is because they don’t trust that they’ll spend the money well.

Being skeptical about charity organisations has been around for some time,  but worsened in the light of a few high profile scandals where charities have misused funds or been unethical in the treatment of their beneficiaries.

Unfortunately, this has had an impact on the wider sector, even though the vast majority are providing incredible help with the money donated.

People often don’t understand that in order to function properly, charities need to hire good professional staff and pay rent on a building. To grow and serve more beneficiaries, they need to spend money on things like marketing and collaterol.

There’s a idealistic belief that every penny donated should go towards the charity beneficiaries and everyone working for charity should do so on a voluntary basis. But realistically, a charity is an organisation like any other with overheads that must be paid.  

It’s been well researched that investing is a route to growth and not spending on such things is a false economy. 

To address these challenges, charities should look to provide complete transparency and be absolutely accountable for any expenses. Regular updates and financial reports about how donations are being used should be found on any legitimate charity website. 

Another layer to the trust issue is around the accountability to the donors but not necessarily the recipients.

This can be because when a charity helps, the beneficiaries aren’t necessarily trackable – such as victims of an earthquake or refugees. So when a charity isn’t able to precisely name and number those they’ve helped, there’s a potential for suspicion.  

So while the purpose of any charity is to benefit those in need, it’s important to provide stats wherever possible on exactly who is being helped and how.

They don’t connect to the cause

You can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink! Sometimes people just aren’t connected to the cause and have no emotional reaction to the need.

As with our blog ‘Reasons people give’ we know that people often feel inspired to give because they’re able to relate to a cause.

Having personal experience of the issues a charity is addressing is a key motivator. But what if they don’t have that experience?

When people don’t donate, it can be that they aren’t connected because they aren’t informed.

Simply by sharing the facts, fundraisers can raise awareness about the issues people and animals are facing and perhaps on some occasions, potential donors might connect and empathise. What charities need money the most might not be something they’ve considered before.

Fundraisers should remember that ultimately, you can’t make someone care about something they actively don’t and in that instance should make a polite exit to avoid spending unnecessary energy.

They don’t believe their donations will make a difference

It’s a pretty common belief that when people donate some money they simply won’t make any impact.

This might be because the problem is too big, particularly when thinking about global issues like cancer, poverty or the climate crisis.

Of course we know that many hands make light work! The truth is that even small donations can make a big difference.

So what do people need that doesn’t cost a lot but makes an enormous impact?

Imagine a family sized malaria net, costing around £3. The net will protect two people from malaria for up to 3 years, and if those two people happen to be your parents, or your children - that’s essential.

Whatever the belief about that, the best charities to donate money to are clearly the ones who can demonstrate where the funds are going and that they’re having the desired effect.

When a potential donor implies they don’t think their contribution will matter, it’s down to the charities and fundraisers to show that even small donations make a big difference. Provide clear and concise information about exactly how donations are used and the impact they will have – with specific focus on individuals.

As we’ve discussed before in The power of story telling in fundraising we know that people love stories. Hearing a tale about how someone’s life was changed for the better has huge influence and really brings home what charities are doing for actual real life people or animals.

They don’t have time to research or choose which charity to support

There’s no doubt there’s a lot of need - there are 168,850 charities in the UK alone!

The process of selecting which non-profit to support can feel like a daunting task, so it’s fair to assume that some get overwhelm and simply shut down to the idea of donating.

So which charities actually help?

The good news is that there are several organisations that have done the leg work. Extensive research about the best charities to donate to is available.

This is especially helpful because as well as people deciding which causes matter to them, they can consider other priorities. For example, the number of people that the money will help (eg. Providing clean drinking water in a village), or degree of transformation for a single person (e.g. the whole education for one child).

Making it easy for potential donors to support their cause is a good move from the charity perspective, giving clear information on their mission, making online donations simply and easy and partnering with other organisations and businesses to maximise outreach.

They think that people should solve their own problems

Arguably, when you donate money to poor communities it has the largest impact on their lives, but there are plenty of people who argue why we shouldn't give money to the poor. This is largely due to the belief that impoverished countries should sort out their own problems, usually totally disregarding things like political corruption, the impact of climate change and war, none of which are civilians fault.

It is unarguable that people’s circumstances influences almost every potential they have to succeed.

In fact, social scientist and Nobel Prize and Turin Prize winner Herbert Simon estimates that about 90% of earnings are based on a persons immediate social capital, such as the networks available to them, their location and the opportunities they are exposed to.

And if you live in a place where the legal system is not upheld, schools are inadequate and police are corrupt, it’s going to be very difficult to level up with someone who comes from a country with those systems in place. Frankly, even the most successful people would struggle to do well if they lived in a small village in Somalia.

Even the basics are a huge challenge, with women spending 200 million work hours each day just to collect water. This gives some idea of how simply surviving means that, for much of the population,  they don’t stand a chance of competing with the western world.

Another key social imbalance that factors a persons ability to succeed is access to healthcare. When people in poverty experience illness, it can completely debilitate them and their families if they have dependents. Meanwhile their western counterpart would simply pop to the chemist.

A great example of this is treatable blindness, which affects 4 out of every 5 blind people globally. Horrifyingly we know that half of all blind children in developing countries will die within a few years of going blind simply because their families do not have the means to care for a disabled child.  

So much potential is lost to poverty.  

Finally, of the people surveyed that don’t donate, 52% said they were unlikely to give money to charity in the next 12 months.

They do however, take part in civic life and are involved in charitable programs, giving their time, service and talent in other forms.

Of these non donors, 85% vote regularly with 4% donating to political campaigns. 70% sign online petitions and 29% participate in marches and protests.

There are also reasons why donors stop giving when they’ve been supporters for a length of time. This might be that they feel another charity is more deserving, that they’ve given enough or that they no longer feel affiliated to the cause.

So there we have it – a full and comprehensive list of why people don’t donate. Does any of this surprise you?

The good news is that despite our own troubles of late, the UK public continue to generously support and donate to charities, understanding that even just giving a few pounds a month can be a lifesaver.

As we discussed in our last blog ‘how fundraisers can stay optimistic in the face of the cost of living crisis’ more people are giving to charity than 4 years ago (albeit the amount they can give is less).

So the intention to help financially far outweighs any of the negativity about mistrusting charity and their work.

Here at Charity Link, we strive to continue helping the charity sector and our charity partners to achieve their big goals through our passionate, ethical and professional fundraising.

From our award winning training to ongoing mentoring and support, we’re industry leaders making a real difference.

If you’re interested in pursuing a career as a professional fundraiser, we invite you to reach out to our friendly recruitment team.