How do New Zealanders give?: 2008 update

• Support for the community and voluntary sector remained stable from 2007 to 2008.
  Overall, 75.8 per cent of people aged 10 years and over supported the community and voluntary sector in the previous 12 months for 2008, compared to 75.4 per cent for 2007. The difference is not statistically significant. This overall (or ‘total’) support is defined as a person doing one or more of the following activities in the previous 12 months: volunteering, making donations, or providing other support (such as purchasing products).

• The ad hoc donating rate increased slightly in 2008.
  The percentage of people 10 years and over who made an ad hoc donation in the previous 12 months increased from 47.4 per cent for 2007 to 49.6 per cent for 2008. This increase is statistically significant.

• The volunteering and committed donating rates remained stable in 2008.
  The percentage of people 10 years and over who volunteered in the previous 12 months was 34 per cent for 2008. Similarly, the percentage of people 10 years and over who made committed donations in the previous 12 months was 33.4 per cent in 2008. Neither of these is statistically different from its 2007 result.

• Volunteers and donors spread their support wider in 2008 than in 2007.
  While overall donation and volunteering rates remained stable or increased slightly, donation and volunteering rates for all individual subsectors increased in 2008 when compared to 2007. These results indicate that volunteers and donors spread their voluntary effort and donations across more subsectors in 2008. Many New Zealanders support a large number of causes in different ways over the course of a year. At a national level this creates a complex portfolio of support, influenced by short-term responses to community needs alongside shifts in priorities associated with significant life changes, such as having children.

• Conclusion: Support for the community and voluntary sector is stable yet dynamic.
  Based on available data, the overall rates of volunteering and donating appear to be stable, yet people who volunteer and donate seem to be doing so across more subsectors in 2008. The complexity of how and where people choose to give their support causes fluctuations in volunteering and donation rates for specific subsectors.  Further research is required to firmly establish the reasons for these fluctuations. 

Total support is defined as a person supporting a community organisation in one or more of the following ways in the previous 12 months:

• volunteering – unpaid work outside of the home for or through an organisation
• ad hoc donations – generally unplanned gifts of money or goods to an appeal
• committed donations – planned, regular giving to a specific organisation or cause
• other support – such as purchasing products.

Total support was stable from 2007 to 2008, with 75.8 per cent of people 10 years and over having supported the community and voluntary sector in the previous 12 months in 2008, compared to 75.4 per cent in 2007. The change is not statistically significant.  Further analysis of total support by subsector can be found in the ‘Time series’ section below.

The overall volunteering rate is stable. An estimated 1,241,000 people volunteered in the previous 12 months for 2008 (34.0 per cent of the population aged 10 years and over), compared to 1,217,000 people for 2007 (33.8 per cent). The change is statistically insignificant. 

Volunteering rates by age and sex changed from 2007 to 2008. The overall female volunteering rate increased 1.7 percentage points in 2008, while the male volunteering rate did not change significantly. When analysed by age group, there was an increase in the volunteering rate of females aged 40 to 49 years (up 9.2 percentage points). This is mirrored by a decrease of 6.7 percentage points for the volunteering rate of males 40 to 49. Fluctuations in the volunteering rates for males 10 to 19 and males 20 to 29 were also significant, contributing to a flattening of the profile for the male volunteering rate across age groups.

Volunteering by ethnicity

The volunteering rates of different ethnic groups showed some change, but overall were stable from 2007 to 2008. There were increases in the volunteering rate for the Asian (up 4.9 percentage points) and NZ European/Pākeha (up 0.6 percentage points) ethnic groups. There were no significant changes in volunteering rates for Māori, Pacific Peoples, European (not NZ born) and All Other Ethnicities.

Volunteering by subsector

The volunteering rate increased across all measured subsectors between 2007 and 2008. This is in contrast to the overall volunteering rate, which remained stable. This indicates that volunteers volunteered in more subsectors on average in 2008 than in 2007.

The overall pattern of volunteering shows some consistency between 2007 and 2008. This is most notable in the five major volunteering subsectors for 2007: Sports Clubs, Other Clubs/Community Organisations, Preschool, Primary/Secondary Education and Religious Activities. The largest increases in the volunteering rate were in health related subsectors: Hospice, Illness and Disease Prevention, Children’s Health and Other Health Services (e.g. paramedics and ambulance).

Volunteering by broad urban/rural region

The volunteering rate by broad urban/rural region varied between 2007 and 2008. There was an increase in the volunteering rate for metropolitan areas (up 1.7 percentage points) and a decrease for rural areas (down 5.2 percentage points). There were no significant changes for provincial urban and secondary/minor/rural centres.

The overall ad hoc donation rate has increased. An estimated 1,808,000 people made an ad hoc donation in the previous 12 months for 2008 (49.6 per cent of the population aged 10 years and over), compared to an estimated 1,709,000 people for 2007 (47.4 per cent). The increase is statistically significant.

The overall male ad hoc donation rate increased 4.0 percentage points for 2008, while there was no significant change in the female ad hoc donation rate. There were increases within a number of age groups: females 60 to 74 (up 6.1 percentage points), males 10 to 19 (up 11.3 percentage points), males 30 to 39 (up 5.8 percentage points) and males 60 to 74 (up 5.9 percentage points).

Ad hoc donations by ethnicity

The ad hoc donation rate varied by ethnicity from 2007 to 2008. There were changes for NZ European/Pākeha (up 2.9 percentage points), European (not NZ born) (up 3.5 percentage points), All Other Ethnicities (up 10.5 percentage points) and Pacific Peoples (down 4.4 percentage points). There were no significant changes for Māori and Asian ethnic groups.

Ad hoc donations by subsector

The ad hoc donation rate increased across all subsectors from 2007 to 2008, alongside an overall increase in the ad hoc donation rate. This is in contrast to the overall volunteering and committed donation rates, both of which remained stable. The overall pattern of ad hoc donations is consistent from 2007 to 2008, with similar increases across all subsectors.

Ad hoc donations by broad urban/rural region

The ad hoc donation rate across broad rural/urban regions was variable from 2007 to 2008. There were increases in metropolitan (up 2.0 percentage points) and provincial urban (up 3.7 percentage points) areas. There was no significant change for secondary/minor/rural centres or rural areas.

The overall committed donation rate is stable. An estimated 1,217,000 people made committed donations in the previous 12 months for 2008 (33.4 per cent of the population aged 10 years and over), compared to 1,213,000 people for 2007 (33.6 per cent). The change is statistically insignificant.

Committed donation rates by sex were stable, with no significant change for males or females overall. The only significant changes were for males 10 to 19 (up 3.3 percentage points) and females 20 to 29 (down 6.5 percentage points).

Committed donations by ethnicity

The committed donation rate varied by ethnicity from 2007 to 2008. There were changes for All Other Ethnicities (up 4.3 percentage points), Māori (down 2.2 percentage points) and Asian (down 2.7 percentage points). There were no significant changes for NZ European/Pākeha, European (not NZ born), and Pacific Peoples.

Committed donations by subsector

Similar to volunteering and ad hoc donations, the committed donations rate increased across all measured subsectors between 2007 and 2008. This is in contrast to the overall committed donation rate, which remained stable. This result indicates that committed donors made committed donations to more subsectors on average in 2008 than in 2007. The overall pattern of committed donations is broadly consistent from 2007 to 2008, with similar increases across all subsectors.

Committed donations by broad urban/rural region

The committed donation rate was stable across all broad rural/urban regions, with no significant change from 2007 to 2008.

The Panorama survey has collected data on volunteering and donating behaviours since 2006. For this report, the 2006 data was not used in detailed analysis, primarily because of slight changes in survey design.  Since 2006, extra categories have been added making data incomplete or not directly comparable in places. However, the overall effect of adding new categories does not seem to distort ‘total support’ at a subsector level.

From 2006 to 2008, the percentage of the population providing the various forms of support for the community and voluntary sector has remained stable. The only significant changes have been the fluctuation in the ad hoc donation rate between 2006-07 and 2007-08, and the slight increase in the ‘other support’ rate from 2007-08.

We can conclude that overall volunteering and donating rates, alongside total support rates by subsector, have been relatively stable over the 2006-08 period.

Endnote: There were only minor changes across personal and household income brackets, and so analysis of income is not included in this report.

Data source

All data in this report was collected through the Nielsen Media Research’s Panorama survey. Panorama is an omnibus survey collecting a wide range of information from 12,000 respondents annually (see www.nielsenmedia.co.nz, keyword ‘Panorama’).

Panorama asks people to identify the types of charities, non-profits and other community organisations they have personally supported in the previous 12 months. Support can be any one of four ways:

• direct donation/sponsorship (‘committed donations’)
• donation of money or goods to an appeal (‘ad hoc donations’)
• volunteering
• other support such as purchasing products that support the charity/worthy cause.

The results are based on the respondent’s self-classification and perceptions, and their recall of their actions. The survey is conducted throughout a calendar year, so the time period covered by the phrase ‘in the last 12 months’ is different for each respondent.

The classification used in the survey to identify types of organisations supported is adapted from the International Classification of Non-profit Organisations (ICNPO). Panorama has adapted ICNPO into 26 measured subsectors, as shown in Figures 2, 4, 6 and 7 below.

Statistical methods and assumptions

All statistical analysis in this report compare sample proportions at the 95 per cent confidence level. Any reference to change in this report meets this confidence level. Use of sample proportions assumes that respondents are randomly selected for Panorama each year.