How do New Zealanders give?: Quarterly generosity indicators
The foundation of support for most community organisations in New Zealand comes from people giving and volunteering. For the first time in New Zealand, this short report investigates this essential source of support on a quarterly basis. Published on 15 September 2010, the report analyses data collected during the December 2009 and March 2010 quarters.
On this page:
This report is an initial, high-level exploration of new data. More detailed analysis will be undertaken in future releases, including investigation of any emerging trends. Comparisons in this report use 95 percent confidence intervals to assess differences between quarterly results, and so should be interpreted as indicative only.
Once a full year of data is available, a wider range of variables will be investigated, such as ethnicity, income, region and age group. This will also include analysis by specific sub-sectors (i.e. sports clubs, social services, religion).
Key findings
| Table 1: Quarterly Generosity Indicators | ||
|---|---|---|
| Indicator | December quarter 2009 | March quarter 2010 |
| Percentage of people who volunteered | 28.3% | 30.3% |
| Median hours volunteered per month (per volunteer) | 8 hours | 10 hours |
| Percentage of people who donated money | 41.3% | 40.1% |
| Median dollars donated per month (per donor) | $40 | $35 |
| Percentage of people who donated goods | 16.4% | 15.7% |
Note 1: Percentages are of the population 10 years and older as estimated for each quarter.
Note 2: Respondents were asked to recall their behaviours in the previous 3 months.
Analysis of these indicators for the December quarter 2009 and March quarter 2010 showed that:
- the percentage of people volunteering increased slightly. This increase was driven by more males volunteering, even though fewer females volunteered
- there was a complementary increase in median hours volunteered per volunteer
- the percentage of people donating money remained stable
- there was a decrease in median dollars donated per month
- the percentage of people donating goods was stable. More females but fewer males donated goods in the March quarter 2010, essentially balancing out the total number of people donating goods between quarters.
These results suggest a seasonal effect leading up to Christmas and into the summer holiday period. Analyses indicate volunteering increased during the March 2010 quarter, primarily driven by males volunteering for sports clubs. In contrast, there was a $5 decrease in the median amount donated per month in the March quarter 2010. This is driven by slightly lower donations to health and social services organisations. This appears to be associated with seasonal fundraising drives in the lead up to Christmas, hence a higher median in the December quarter.
Volunteering
The number of people volunteering increased between quarters. An estimated 1,043,000 people had volunteered in the previous three months for the December quarter 2009. This increased to 1,129,000 people in the March quarter 2010. This is an increase from 28.3 to 30.3 percent of the population 10 years and over.
This increase in volunteering was driven by an increase in male volunteering, which increased from 404,000 in the December quarter 2009 to 545,000 in the March quarter 2010. This is an increase from 22.6 percent to 30.1 percent of males. Analysis indicates this increase was primarily driven by males volunteering for sports clubs. This "episodic" volunteering is likely to cause significant seasonal fluctuations in the percentage of people who volunteer each quarter.
This result is consistent with the range of organisations males support. Further analysis highlighted that in the March 2010 quarter, males constituted six of every 10 people who had supported a single type of organisation (i.e. schools, sports) in the previous 12 months. Support can be through any mix of donations, volunteering or other types of support (such as purchasing products).
The percentage of females volunteering decreased from 33.8 percent in the December 2009 quarter to 30.6 percent in the March 2010 quarter. There was no discernable pattern in the changes in types of organisations females volunteered for.
Number of hours volunteered
There was an increase between the December quarter 2009 and March quarter 2010 for median hours volunteered per volunteer. The difference between average and median volunteer hours indicates a sizeable group of people who volunteer many hours per month.
| Table 2: Monthly hours volunteered (per volunteer) | ||
|---|---|---|
| December quarter 2009 | March quarter 2010 | |
| Average | 19.0 | 18.9 |
| Median | 8 | 10 |
The shift in the median hours volunteered per month is not reflected in the average, which remained static. Analysis indicates this was influenced by the increase in male volunteering during the March quarter 2010.
For the purposes of general analysis and use, the median is more representative of how many hours a typical volunteer is undertaking per month. This is because the median measures the point in the data where half of people volunteer more and half volunteer less than this amount. The average divides the total hours volunteered by the number of volunteers; so a group of people who volunteer many hours per month can lift the average substantially.
Donations of money
The percentage of people who donated money was stable. An estimated 1,518,000 people donated money in the previous three months for the December quarter 2009, compared to 1,493,000 people in the March quarter 2010. This was a decrease from 41.3 percent to 40.1 percent of the population 10 years and over. This change does not appear to be significant.
The percentage both of males and females donating money remained stable.
Males donating money decreased from 35.1 percent to 32.1 percent, while females donating money increased from 47.0 percent to 47.7 percent. These changes do not appear to be significant. For both quarters, approximately 30 percent more females than males donated money.
Amounts of money donated
| Table 3: Monthly donations of money (per donor) | ||
|---|---|---|
| December quarter 2009 | March quarter 2010 | |
| Average | $ 137.60 | $ 134.10 |
| Median | $ 40.00 | $ 35.00 |
There was a $5 decrease in the median amount donated per month in the March quarter 2010. This appears to be driven by slightly lower donations to health and social services organisations. This is consistent with the increase of seasonal fundraising drives that occur in the December quarter in the lead up to Christmas.
As with hours volunteered, the median is more representative of what a typical New Zealand donor is giving per month. The median is less likely to be influenced by large donations.
The large difference between average and median donations indicate a group of people donating substantial amounts of money per month. This has the effect of "pulling up" the average donation per donor. This is consistent with, although much more pronounced, than the result for volunteer hours.
A large difference between average and median donations is consistent with the experience of other countries (+). In New Zealand, preliminary analysis suggests this skewing of the average is driven by large donations to religious, education and health-related organisations.
Further data and analysis is needed to understand people who report substantial donations. This includes investigating the possibility of over-reporting by some respondents, who may take an overly optimistic view of the amounts they have donated. Significant over-reporting however seems unlikely. Data from Inland Revenue shows that for the year ending March 2009, total average charitable donations were $1,489 per donor. This is a monthly average of $124 per donor, so is relatively consistent with the results above.
(+) For example, tax data analysed by the Calgary Foundation in Canada found annual median donations of C$360 (C$30 per month), while annual average donations were C$2,700 (C$225 per month). http://www.thecalgaryfoundation.org/documents/ResearchonCharitableGivinginCalgaryandCanada.pdf
Donations of goods
The percentage of people who donated goods was stable. An estimated 603,000 people donated goods in the previous three months for the December quarter 2009. This decreased to 585,000 people in the March quarter 2010. This was a decrease from 16.4 to 15.7 percent of the population 10 years and over. This change does not appear to be significant.
The percentage of males donating goods decreased from 12.6 percent to 7.8 percent. In contrast, the percentage of females donating goods increased slightly from 20.0 percent to 23.2 percent. These changes essentially balance each other out.
Background to report structure
Based on available data, the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector (OCVS) estimates that when combined, volunteer labour (if given a dollar value per hour) and donations of money by individuals, account for 37 percent of revenue to the non-profit sector (*).
Changes in giving and volunteering therefore have a significant impact on the capacity of community and voluntary sector organisations to deliver to the communities they serve.
For this reason, the OCVS has worked with Nielsen Media Research to redesign the questions on giving and volunteering in the ongoing Panorama survey.
This redesign includes:
- moving from an annual to a quarterly measure of donations and volunteering
- collecting information on monthly hours volunteered and monthly dollars donated
- collecting information specifically about donations of goods
- refined definitions of the types of organisations supported.
These changes mean we can better track shifts in support for community organisations.
Because of the redesign, the results are not directly comparable with Panorama data in previous How do New Zealanders give? reports released by the OCVS in 2008 and 2009. This is because respondents are now asked about their behaviour for the past three months, instead of the past twelve months. This redesign will provide more timely information about changes in giving and volunteering, and will be more accurate as respondents are asked to recall their actions over a shorter time period.
The How do New Zealanders give? series has arisen out of collaboration between the OCVS and the Generosity Hub, a cross-sectoral group from business, government and the non-profit sector. The Generosity Hub aims to create a better awareness of giving in New Zealand and grow the level of giving, in all its forms, amongst all people in our communities.
Analysis was completed by James King, (OCVS Policy Analyst) to assist the work of the Generosity Hub.
(*) Estimate derived from the Non-profit Institutions Satellite Account: 2004 (Statistics New Zealand, 2007) pp21,35; and The New Zealand Non-profit Sector in Comparative Perspective (Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector, 2008) p18.
Survey information
The information in this report is sourced from Nielsen Media Research's Panorama survey (December 2009 - March 2010 database) which randomly surveys 3,000 people aged 10 years and over per quarter.
Panorama asks people to identify the types of charities, non-profits and other community organisations they have personally supported, generally in the previous three months. Support can be any one of five things; direct donation/sponsorship, donation of money to an appeal, donations of goods, volunteering and other support such as purchasing products that support the charity/worthy cause.
The results are based on the respondents' self-classification and perceptions, and their recall of their actions. Note that, as the survey is conducted throughout each quarter, the time period covered by the phrase "in the previous 3 months" is different for each respondent. This means the December quarter results report on behaviour in any three month period from July to December 2009, and the March quarter results cover activity in any three month period between October 2009 and March 2010.
Data is weighted to the population for analysis.
The classification used in the survey to identify types of organisations supported is adapted from the internationally recognised International Classification of Non-profit Organisations (ICNPO), which was developed by Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. ICNPO has been adapted for use in New Zealand by Statistics New Zealand in the creation of the Non-profit Institutions Satellite Account: 2004 (see www.stats.govt.nz/npi).
For this research, 27 sub-sectors are measured and are based on ICNPO sub-groups. These sub-groups are:
Culture and recreation
1. Arts and culture
2. Sports clubs
3. Marae
4. Other recreation/social clubs and community organisations (e.g. service and special interest clubs)
Education
5. Preschool including Kindergarten, Playcentre and Kōhanga Reo
6. Primary and Secondary Education
7. Tertiary Education and Research
Health and medical
8. Hospitals/rehabilitation
9. Hospice
10. Illness and disease prevention
11. Mental health services
12. Children's health
13. Other health services (e.g. ambulance, paramedics)
Social services and community development
14. Children's welfare
15. Family support services (e.g. shelters and family/life education)
16. Youth services and welfare
17. Emergency services (e.g. coastguard, fire service, mountain rescue teams)
18. Services for the elderly
19. Services for people with disabilities
International aid
20. International aid, advocacy and disaster relief
21. Child sponsorship
22. Fair trade practices
Environment
23. Animal welfare and rights
24. Environmental
Other
25. Religious activities
26. Business and Professional Associations
27. Political organisations (including parties, unions).
If you require more information on the survey, visit www.nielsenmedia.co.nz, keyword "Panorama".
We encourage you to examine, consider, discuss and debate this information, and help build our collective understanding of generosity in New Zealand. E-mail: ocvs@msd.govt.nz
