SME & VSE giving on the rise in France, report shows

French individuals and businesses gave €9.2bn to charities in 2022, according to the third edition of the Panorama national des générosités, produced by France générosités and the Fondation de France’s Observatoire Philanthropie & Société.

Of that €9.2bn, 58% came from members of the public and the remainder from businesses – figures practically unchanged since the 59%/41% split seen in the previous Panorama, which covered 2019.

The report is primarily based on tax declaration data from the country’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP).

It shows that while public giving has grown by an annual average of 6% since 2006, corporate giving has increased by an average of 9% annually, with total gifts growing from €969m in 2010 to €2.65bn in 2022.

Corporate generosity has shown particular growth from SMEs and very small enterprises (VSEs) – their gifts accounted for 15% of all business income at the start of last decade, rising to 35% in the most recent survey. VSEs now make up 62% of those making gifts: an increase from 47% in 2010.

• SMEs are defined as those with less than 250 people; turnover of less than €50m; or balance sheet of less than €43m.
• VSEs are those with fewer than 10 employees; and an annual turnover of balance sheet of less than €2m.

Overall, 142,500 firms – or 6% of all those liable to pay corporate tax in the country gave money to charity last year. In 2010, the figures were 27,600 firms, representing 2% of businesses.

A total of 5.5m households (as defined by the tax authorities) made a donation to charity in 2022 – equating to 14% of all French households, a figure that had been 13% in the years 2019-2021, but was 15% prior to that.

The report finds that more regular donors are the most likely to give larger amounts – the average amount given by households declaring a donation in only one of the last 11 years was €265, while for those declaring donations every year, it was €834.

It also shows that 51% of total public donations came from the 10% of wealthiest households, while 53% came from households whose principal taxpayer was 60 years or older.

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