Children & grandchildren impact donor loyalty, suggests Swiss report

Grandparents and parents may be less likely to remain loyal to particular charities, as a result of children influencing their donation choices.

This suggestion is made in the fifth annual giving report (Swiss German: Spendenreport, French: Rapport sur les dons Suisse) from Swissfundraising and Zewo Foundation, published at the end of 2023.

The headline figure of the report is that the median charitable donation in the country rose for the third consecutive year in 2022, growing 11% to 400 CHF (€424).

In a section on donor loyalty, the report authors note that the overall picture has remained stable over the years, with nearly two-thirds (62%) always giving to the same charities. However, households with children are much less likely to be in this category (45%), compared with households with no children (62%).

Overall, 24% of donors are classified as ‘volatile’, meaning they vary which charities they give to, while the remaining 12% give to a mix of the same and new charities.

Over-70s were more likely than other age groups to be in the ‘volatile’ category (59%), followed by those aged 35-44 (44%), leading the researchers to the conclusion that children and grandchildren lead to different donation behaviours.

The report also noted that 84% of the population made a charitable donation during the year, a figure not seen since 2019, and that digital giving has grown fivefold in five years. However, the number of charitable donations being made by each donor dropped when compared with the previous year.

Donation levels also varied among the country’s three language communities. The most generous was the country’s Swiss German majority, who are nearly two-thirds of the population, with 87% (2021: 83%) making a donation, although the median donation dropped significantly, from 500 CHF to 400 CHF.

Among the near quarter of French-speaking Swiss, the donation ratio remained at 75%, and their median donation has doubled in less than a decade, reaching 400 CHF last year, while the Italian speaking minority jumped from 68% to 83%.

The 55-69 age group is the most generous (93%), followed by 88% of those aged 25-34.

Roger Tinner, Swissfundraising executive director, commented:

“Despite the increasingly tense economic situation, 84% of the Swiss population donated again in 2022: With a 5% increase in donations compared to the previous year, we are now at the same level as before the 2019 pandemic. This is very encouraging.”

Picture by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels