Press Story

Eight out of ten people have used charitable services in the last year, according to new polling by Populus for the think tank IPPR, published today. The exclusive polling, in a new IPPR report shows that half of people have used charitable services in the last month, either through making purchases from charity shops, visiting charitably-run institutions -such as churches or community centres - or attending events organised by a charity. The report shows that more than one in ten use them at least once a week.

The polling paints a picture of charities playing a vital role in people's everyday lives. More than nine out of ten people said that charities play an essential, very or fairly important role in society. Nearly half of households said that charities were essential to their lives.

The polling shows that people use charities in different ways. The most common ways in which people engage with charitable services are through making purchases from charity shops, visiting charitable-run institutions, (such as churches or community centres) or attending events organised by a charity. In the last year, 10% of people have attended counselling, a support group, or received mental health support, provided by a charity and 7% of people have received medical support.

The polling also shows the types of people using charitable services:

Women are slightly more likely than men to use charitable services, with 83% having done so in the last 12 months (compared to only 75% of men).
Usage also increases with age, with 85% of those aged 65 or over having used a charity service in the last 12 months, compared to only 75% of those aged between 18 and 24. But in terms of multiple service use, the trend is reversed, with younger people using a greater breadth of different charity services.
Families with older children are most likely to have used a charitable service within the last 12 months (89%), followed by older couples and lone parents (both at 84%). However, they are not the most frequent users: multiple service use was highest among young single adult households.
Older couples are much more likely to have bought an item in a charity shop, whilst lone parents are more likely than average to have visited a community centre run by a charity or voluntary organisation.
There does not appear to be a direct linear relationship between income and the use of charitable services. Those with the highest recorded incomes (over £55K) are more likely to use multiple charity services, an average of 3.9 used in the last 12 months, compared to 2.7 amongst those with the lowest incomes (under £7K).

Those households that are using charities the most – families with older children – are most likely to see them as making a difference to their lives, while a third of lone parents consider the charity services that they receive as central to their lives, and say that they would struggle without them.

Ed Cox, Director of IPPR North, said:

"Charities can be closer to people than many other government or commercial bodies, with charitable services reaching every aspect of life. Despite this, it can sometimes be easy to forget the very real impact that charities have on peoples' lives, and the value that charities add to society. Charities not only provide much needed support and assistance, but also enrich lives through the arts, science and education."

Notes to Editors

IPPR's new report – Charity Street: the value of charity to British households – is published on today and available from: http://www.ippr.org/publications/charity-street-the-value-of-charity-to-british-households

Contacts:

Richard Darlington, 07525 481 602, r.darlington@ippr.org

Sofie Jenkinson, 07981 023 031, s.jenkinson@ippr.org