Improving trends in fundraising by Irish charities and NGOs.

1. 1Member Findings
Christmas Donations
An Amárach Report // February 2015 //

2. 2Member Findings
2015 Survey
This report details the findings from a survey of charities undertaken
by Amárach Research on behalf of Fundraising Ireland.
A total of 55 charities participated in the 2015 survey, down from 76
in 2014 and up from 26 in 2013.
As in 2014, most interviews were undertaken by phone: 54
participated by phone and 1 participated online.
Fieldwork was undertaken in late January and early February 2015,
comparisons are made with previous surveys where appropriate.
The objective of the study was to update findings from previous
years in relation to Christmas and annual donations, as well as
including new questions in relation to fundraising channels.

3. Trends Report
Christmas
2014

4. 4Member Findings
How Was It?
The general public said they gave more at Christmas – did charities
see it in their own performance?
This section looks at the trend since 2012 in the sources of
donations, numbers donating and value of donations as a valuable
guide to understanding the contribution of donations at Christmas.
As in previous waves of the research, there is an enormous variation
in numbers and amounts across the spectrum of charities in the
survey, reflecting in turn the huge differences in scale of some
charities compared to others.
However, for consistency of reporting, we have used mean scores
where appropriate to show the historic trend.

5. 5Member Findings
One Year On
Q. During the Christmas appeal period, 15th November 2014 – 14th January 2015,
did you receive voluntary income (donations) from any of the following sources?
67%
54%
8%
70%
62%
12%
96%
80%
29%
General Public Corporate Donations Trusts
12/13 13/14 14/15
There was an across-the-board increase in Christmas donations across all three sources in
2014 compared to 2013.
Base = 55

6. 6Member Findings
€196,000
€204,000
€225,000
2012 2013 2014
Q. How much voluntary income did your organisation receive from the general public
over the Christmas appeal period? Average for each year 2012-2014
Income from the general public was up an average 10% on the previous year, reflecting
improvements in donating behaviour in the separate survey of donors.
Base = 53
Christmas Appeal Revenues: The General Public I

7. 7Member Findings
Christmas Appeal Revenues: The General Public II
1,900 2,000
2,400
2012 2013 2014
Q. How many members of the general public made separate donations to your organisation
during this time? Average per organisation 2012-2014
A key driver in the growth of Christmas donations from the general public was the surge in
the numbers donating, well ahead of the amount donated overall.
Base = 53

8. 8Member Findings
Christmas Appeal Revenues: Companies I
€58,900
€60,000
€67,000
2012 2013 2014
Q. How much voluntary income did your organisation receive from companies
over the Christmas appeal period? Average for each year 2012-2014
Income from companies rose by 12%, faster than from the general public.
Base = 44

9. 9Member Findings
Christmas Appeal Revenues: Companies II
47
41
48
2012 2013 2014
Q. How many companies made separate donations to your organisation during this time?
Average per organisation 2012-2014
The average number of companies donating has returned to its 2012 level.
Base = 44

10. 10Member Findings
€18,000
€23,000
2013 2014
Q. How much voluntary income did your organisation receive from Trusts
over the Christmas appeal period? Average for each year 2013-2014
Income from Trusts was up in 2014, though remains a small part of total
Christmas Appeal income (n.b.: not asked in 2012) – the average no. of trusts
was 3 in each year.
n.b.: small base Base = 16
Christmas Appeal Revenues: Trusts

11. 11Member Findings
€1,609,000
€1,717,000
€1,828,000
2012 2013 2014
Q. How much did you raise in fundraising income in the total year? Average 2012-2014
The growth evident in 2013 continued into 2014, with average income from fundraising
rising by just over 6% in the year as a whole.
Base = 55
2014 Performance

12. 12Member Findings
Looking Ahead to Christmas 2015
2014 appears to have ended on a very positive note for the charities
in the survey, showing some continued momentum evident in the
previous survey.
The year as a whole saw further growth after the previous year’s
improvements in terms of average revenues from fundraising.
This confirms the picture in the general public survey of donors
reported separately – and suggests that the improving economic
situation is finally translating into improving revenues for charities.
Nevertheless, there is some evidence that the number of donors in
different categories has grown faster than the amounts donated, so a
key task for the 2015 Christmas Appeals period will be to convince
‘new’ donors to donate more next time round.

13. Trends Report
Channel
Options

14. 14Member Findings
Targeting Audiences
We added a number of questions to the 2015 charities survey to
explore attitudes concerning the use of different media and channels
for targeting different audiences.
The first table overleaf shows the topline preferences of charities for
using different channels to target discrete age groups.
The second table looks at the actual experience fundraisers have
had in generating responses from different channels.
While email and direct mail are quite low in the channel
consideration set for targeting different age groups, they actually
perform better than other channels on the basis of previous
experience with response rates.

15. 15Member Findings
A Matter of Age
Q. Considering the different ways you might use to reach your target audience,
which channel are you more likely to use when reaching for the following age groups:
It is clear that charities consider a much wider range of channels to reach older donors
relative to younger donors.
Base = 55

16. 16Member Findings
Reaching Your Target
Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following:
I get more response from my target audience with...
Past experience suggests that the more personal the message the better the response –
and both email and direct mail out-perform other media on this measure.
Base = 55

17. 17Member Findings
A Turning Point
Much has changed in the charity landscape over the past few years.
In addition to concerns about trust and effectiveness, the wider
economic situation suppressed donations from both the general
public and from companies.
Moreover, the rapid adoption of the internet, smartphones and social
media gathered pace these past few years – despite the economy –
creating new opportunities and challenges for fundraisers.
However, we appear to be at an important turning point in the
economy and – perhaps – in the national zeitgeist in relation to
charities and donations.
The positive turn evident in both this survey and the general public
survey bode well for 2015 and should encourage fundraisers to set
the bar higher in the year ahead.

18. Trends Report
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