Spanish philanthropists grow in number & seek to do more than give

The number of private philanthropists in Spain grew by 11% between 2017 and 2021, shows a new report from the Asociación Española de Fundraising (AEFr).

The number of people making donations of €3,000 and higher rose to 8,381 over the period, according to the first Barómetro de la filantropía privada en España. The study was prepared in collaboration with the University of Alcalá’s Institute of Economic and Social Analysis, and consultancy Diagram Consultores, using data from 16 NGOs in the country.

It notes that one in four of these donors also volunteers for an NGO, versus one in five in the rest of the population. It also shows that many philanthropists would like to collaborate with these nonprofits in other ways such as offering their professional advice and consultancy on a pro bono basis.

However, the study notes too that many nonprofits are not taking advantage of those opportunities, in particular the potential for philanthropists to help with networking or to act as campaign ambassadors.

The report suggests that NGOs could do more to include these donors in conversations about strategy and planning, without forgetting that smaller donors make up the majority of their supporter base and income.

Building a picture

Although these bigger donors only make up a very small portion (1.8%) of charities’ income, the AEFr says that this report will help the sector to understand this group better. Fernando Morón, managing director of the AEFr, says:

“We want to identify the characteristics of a donor profile that is mythologised on some occasions, questioned on others, but rarely listened to and analysed objectively. With this publication, we seek to identify mechanisms that allow us to strengthen the relationship of organisations with these donors, improve the effectiveness of collaboration, try to promote alliances with other key actors in the strategic planning of impact capital and promote a greater culture of strategic philanthropy in our society.”

One stereotype the report dispels is that philanthropists are likely to be from a rich family, noting that in most cases, their main source of income is earned.

The average donor here is a male between 50 and 70 years of age. This contrasts to donors more widely – 60% of regular donors in the country are female, although the average age is similar, at 59.

Tax incentives are not usually a decisive factor in Spanish philanthropists’ decision to donate, the study says.

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