Donation Council
Lowest level of donors since 2005
In Germany the number of donors and the donation volume are declining. photo
© Uli Deck/dpa
Record amounts of cash donations have been received in recent years. This year revenue is down. The number of donors is also decreasing, as a new survey shows.
According to a survey, in the first three quarters of 2023 the number of donors was lower than it has been for a long time. This is the result of a survey commissioned by the German Donations Council, which took place on Monday Berlin was presented and has been carried out 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 charitable 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, when presenting the results.
How is the decline explained? Bianca Corcoran-Schliemann from the Consumer Panel Germany GfK, which conducted the survey, can only speculate. “In addition to donating money, there are of course options for doing good,” said Corcoran-Schliemann during the press conference. It could therefore be that donors prefer to support through donations in kind or social commitment and less with money.
Decline in donation volume too
There was also a decline in donation volume. Between January and September around 3.2 billion euros were raised. That is around 600 million euros less than in the same period last year (around 3.8 billion euros). A possible explanation for this is the high price of food or energy, for example, said Corcoran-Schliemann. “It affects all of us, it affects our wallets,” said the expert with regard to the willingness to donate.
According to the evaluation, income has declined primarily in emergency and disaster relief. This effect can be observed more frequently after years of disasters, the explanation was given. “The previous two years were years characterized by catastrophes. These are always years when donations skyrocket depending on the situation,” said Wulff. Accordingly, record revenues have been achieved in this area in recent years – the flood 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 when interpreting the results. After three “sensational years”, this year’s value is at a similar level to 2019 (around 3.3 billion). Despite the decline, Wulff draws a positive conclusion: “We are very enthusiastic about the continued high willingness to donate among Germans in the Federal Republic.”
Donations Council expects five billion euros by the end of the year
The survey by the Society for Consumer Research GfK is based on regular information from 10,000 people aged ten and over. The Donation Council is an umbrella organization of around 70 donation-collecting organizations.
According to the survey, an average of 37 euros was given per donation. Donors donated an average of six times – this is the highest figure since 2005. In its forecast for the entire year, the Donation Council assumes donations will total around five billion euros.