YouGov survey: Seven out of ten donate, almost half volunteer
During the Christmas season, the themes of sharing and togetherness often come up. According to the new YouGov survey «Donations and Volunteer Work in Switzerland,» 72 percent of Swiss people made some form of donation last year, with 64 percent donating money and 13 percent donating goods.
Donations are most frequently made for humanitarian aid following crises (41%). Women support such humanitarian issues significantly more often than men (47% vs. 35%). In contrast, men donate more often than average to nature and environmental protection (40 percent) (45 vs. 36 percent). Social causes (40 percent) and health organizations (36 percent) follow in equal measure. There are regional differences: Money is donated more frequently in German-speaking Switzerland (68%)
Personal values as the strongest driver - but not the same for everyone
The most important motivation for donating is personal values or life experiences (65 percent). There are relevant age differences here: While personal values are clearly decisive for all respondents, this factor is less central for 18 to 29-year-olds (54 percent), but is still important for around half. Emotional connection (29%), proximity to the topic (24%) and visible, measurable results (25%) follow at a considerable distance. Regionally, the importance of proximity is particularly high in Ticino, where local ties are more important for donations (40 percent).
Why some people don't donate
The most important reason for not donating is a lack of available budget (36 percent). This particularly affects younger people: In the 18 to 29 age group, the proportion of non-donors is significantly higher than in all older groups. Other common barriers are a lack of trust in charitable organizations (27%) and uncertainty about the use of funds (26%).
There are regional differences when it comes to trust in organizations. Only 11 percent of people in German-speaking Switzerland state that they do not trust church organizations - in French-speaking Switzerland (23 percent) and Ticino (22 percent), this figure is significantly higher.
Volunteering: almost one in two people do voluntary work
Almost half of the Swiss population has done voluntary work in the past year (47%). Of these, this is particularly common in sports clubs (31%). This is followed by social organizations (22 percent), community and neighbourhood organizations (20 percent), churches, leisure clubs and cultural associations (19 percent each).
In German-speaking Switzerland, volunteering in church organizations is more common than average (22% compared to 11% and 9% in French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino respectively).
Motivations for volunteering - community stronger than donations
As with donations, personal values and life experiences are the most important motivators (65%). However, in contrast to donations, a sense of community plays a much greater role in volunteering (45% vs. 24% for donations). Personal involvement (30 percent) is particularly important for people in French-speaking Switzerland (55 percent) and Ticino (62 percent), compared to 21 percent in German-speaking Switzerland. Measurable results (24%) follow behind.
Overall, volunteering is often activated through the direct environment: through personal requests (48 percent) or contacts in one's own environment.
