The Charities Aid Foundation has long known that successive generations have given less and less money to charity. People over the age of 60 are twice as likely to give to charity than people under the age of 30, and tend to give a larger share of their income. The proportion of all money given to charity by people in their 30s has more than halved in the last 40 years. However, the new research suggests that the next generation may reverse this trend: 16-18 year-olds give an average of £5.73 a month to charity. In order of priority, this age group favours charities that help: medicine, children, animals, health, people in other countries, the homeless and the disabled. They have a strong desire to support charities, despite living through the worst economic downturn since the 1930s, and more than half of 16-18 year olds believe it is more important to help others than help themselves.
John Low, Chief Executive of the CAF, said: ‘It’s fantastic that [young people] are so keen to support the causes we all care about…We want to find ways of building on the spirit of giving among our children, so we can ensure this country remains one of the world’s most generous in years to come.’
