Donations Council - No money for a good cause: Germans donate less than at any time since 2005
According to a survey, the number of donors in the first three quarters of 2023 was lower than it has been for a long time. This is the result of a survey commissioned by the German Donations Council, which was presented in Berlin on Monday and has been conducted since 2005. Since then, there have never been as few donors as this year. Around 14 million private individuals aged ten and over supported non-profit organizations, aid and charity organizations and churches. Last year, there were around two million more donors in the same period. The significant decline is worrying, said Martin Wulff, Managing Director of the German Donations Council, at the presentation of the results.
How can the decline be explained? Bianca Corcoran-Schliemann from Consumer Panel Deutschland GfK, which carried out the survey, can only speculate. "There are of course other ways of doing good besides donating money," said Corcoran-Schliemann during the press conference. It could therefore be that donors prefer to provide support through donations in kind or social commitment rather than with money.
Decline in donations in Germany
There was also a decline in the volume of donations. Around 3.2 billion euros were collected between January and September. This is around 600 million euros less than in the same period last year (around 3.8 billion euros). Corcoran-Schliemann said that one possible explanation for this was the high level of inflation, for example for food and energy. "This affects us all, it affects our wallets," said the expert with regard to the willingness to donate.
According to the evaluation, income has fallen, particularly in emergency and disaster relief. This effect can be observed more frequently after disaster years, it was explained. "The two previous years were years characterized by disasters. These are always years when donations skyrocket due to the situation," said Wulff. Accordingly, record income has been achieved in this area in recent years - the floods in the Ahr valley occurred in 2021 and the war in Ukraine began in 2022.
However, this year's donation volume shows that donation income is returning to normal, said Corcoran-Schliemann, interpreting the results. After three "sensational years", this year's figure is at a similar level to 2019 (around 3.3 billion). Despite the decline, Wulff therefore draws a positive balance: "We are very enthusiastic about the continued high level of willingness to donate among Germans in Germany."
Donations Council expects five billion euros by the end of the year
The survey by the GfK consumer research company is based on regular data from 10,000 people aged ten and over. The Donations Council is an umbrella organization of around 70 charitable organizations.
According to the survey, an average of 37 euros was given per donation. Donors made an average of six donations - the highest figure since 2005. In its forecast for the year as a whole, the Donations Council expects donations to total around five billion euros.
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In light of the declining donation rates, the German Donations Council, headed by Martin Wulff, is looking at alternative forms of monetary donation, such as donations in kind or social commitments, as potential reasons for the decrease.
Despite the overall decrease in donations in Germany, Martin Wulff remains optimistic about the continued high level of willingness to donate among Germans, predicting a donation total of around five billion euros by the end of the year.
Source: www.stern.de
