Almost six out of ten people say they are suffering from ‘charity fatigue’ and cannot afford to support good causes, according to a new survey by BuytoGive.
It found that 68% of respondents feel pressure to donate money they cannot afford.
And more than half of us (51%) are fed up with requests from well-meaning friends who often do charitable events.
The results come from a new survey of 1,000 people by BuytoGive, the UK’s first market place dedicated to fund-raising.
The survey found that 54% feel ‘peer group’ pressure to match the donation of more generous friends when getting a request to support a charity event.
A third of those questioned (33%) believe this ‘naming and shaming’ on sites such as JustGiving should stop.
The majority of respondents (59%) find requests for charitable payments at outlets such as McDonald’s or petrol stations ‘annoying,’ with 78% never making a donation.
More than two-thirds (67%) do not welcome being approached by charity canvassers at home or in the street.
Almost half of us (45%) ignore charity canvassers, 26% welcome the approach and 29% say they sometimes engage if the canvasser is friendly.
The vast majority of people (68%) worry about how much money actually goes to charities from big events such as the London Marathon or the Great North Run.
BuytoGive founder Kevin Turner said: “We are tired of just giving to charity, with 59% of us saying we are suffering from charity fatigue.
“With the cost of living crisis still biting, people are fed up with regularly having to dip into their pockets to support good causes when they are struggling to pay bills at home.
“What many of us who want to give something back want to do is find a new model such as BuytoGive where we can support good causes without it costing us anything.
“We all have genuinely good spirited friends who are regularly looking at ways to give something back. While we admire their spirit, it is exhausting and a big drain on household budgets to regularly have to make donations.
“Lots of us feel pressure to match the highest donation of friends on sites such as JustGiving which names donors and relies on peer group pressure to raise funds.
“This naming and shaming can be humiliating for some people who are on far lower incomes than richer friends.
“It is far easier to do a fund-raiser on BuytoGive – you avoid that peer group pressure, don’t upset your friends and know that any purchase will help a good cause.”
The survey found that more than half us (53%) are looking for new ways of giving money to charity.
Almost two-thirds (64%) also worry that sites such as JustGiving are taking too much of a cut from charitable giving.
More than seven out of ten (71%) welcome new ways to reward charities without relying on straight donations or sponsored events such as marathon runs.
Turner added: “”Almost all of us in the UK want to help good causes, but we are looking for a new model. That is why BuytoGive is a game changer and why so many charities are seeking funding sources away from straight donations which is what BuytoGive provides.”
Big names who have joined include the Macari Foundation homelessness centre in Stoke, the YMCA, mental health charity MIND and AEDdonate, which puts 3,000 defibrillators into the public domain annually.
Turner set up the website to allow shoppers to buy millions of products while benefiting good causes at the same time.
It is growing every day as a community of charities, schools, clubs, schools and everyday change-makers see how they can earn more than by using more established partners such as JustGiving which take a bigger proportion of proceeds.
