A Global Pandemic Special Report June 2021
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CAF WORLD GIVING INDEX 2021 A global pandemic special report June 2021 www.cafonline.org Contents Foreword 3 About this report 4 Solidarity across the globe 5 Key Findings 6 The CAF World Giving Index 7 The world’s highest scoring countries 7 The world’s lowest scoring countries 8 Global Scores Over Time 10 Risers and Fallers 13 Helping a Stranger 14 Donating Money 15 Volunteering Time 16 Methodology 17 CAF World Giving Index full table 18 Copyright © Charities Aid Foundation 2021 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. foreword The results of this year’s Charities Aid Foundation At the Charities Aid Foundation, we have seen countless World Giving Index are, like the past year itself, truly moments of incredible generosity as our clients, both remarkable. The ravages of Covid-19 on charitable individuals and businesses, responded at pace to the giving around the globe are laid bare in the pages of this need on the ground around the world and I am proud report. Many of the countries that have been stalwarts of our unique expertise in cross-border giving that of our straight-forward gauge of global generosity over enabled us to send record amounts to some of the the past decade have fallen not just out of the top 10, most vulnerable communities on our shared planet. We but the top 20. are committed to using this research to both inform and advance our vision to connect donors and charities Does this mean the people in these countries have in order to accelerate social progress across the world become less generous as the pandemic took hold? as we emerge from one of the most unsettling times in What conclusions can we draw from these results? And, living memory. perhaps most crucial of all, will charities need to absorb the impact of the pandemic on their ability to help others for years to come? Our domestic research in various countries that form part of the CAF Global Alliance tells us that willingness to give was not drastically diminished, it was opportunity that went missing – the chance to give that had to be sacrificed as countries locked down their people and their economies. While those lockdowns undoubtedly saved lives, they also shut off myriad everyday opportunities to give. The sponsored events, the retail income that charities are able to raise, and the need to shield vulnerable elderly populations who make up significant numbers of volunteers all added up to a funding crisis that continues to haunt charities and their beneficiaries Neil Heslop around the world. Chief Executive This year’s results do, however, carry elements of Charities Aid Foundation hope and cause for celebration when we examine the tremendous giving cultures in countries where the pandemic has taken a different path. The importance of donations linked to faith can be seen once again in Indonesia, Thailand and elsewhere. The pan-African tradition of ubuntu is evident in the rankings of Kenya and other sub-Saharan nations. The number of people who reported helping a stranger stands at a staggering 55%, the highest figure we have recorded in our annual survey and one that speaks to the wave of genuine concern for our neighbours that so many of us witnessed in our day to day lives. 3 About this report Background Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, former Soviet states, developing Asia, the Middle East and Africa) was CAF has been producing its World Giving Index for more not safe or appropriate. Gallup initiated its contingency than a decade. The first CAF World Giving Index was data collection plans and moved to an entirely telephone published in the wake of the global financial crisis, and based methodology. The change in methodology is not now this long running study has given us the opportunity considered to have had a material impact on the findings to look at how a new global crisis – the Covid-19 detailed in this report. pandemic – has impacted giving around the world. In each country, all eligible landline and mobile service This report provides insight into the scope and nature providers were included in the sample and coverage of giving around the world and looks at three aspects of includes rural areas. giving behaviour. The questions that lie at the heart of the report are: CAF World Giving Index ranking and scores Have you done any of the following in the past month? In order to establish a rounded measure of giving behaviour across the world, the CAF World Giving Index Helped a stranger, or someone you didn’t know relies on a simple averaging of the responses from the who needed help? three key questions asked in each country. Each country is given a percentage score and countries are ranked on Donated money to a charity? the basis of these scores. In 2019, CAF published a ten Volunteered your time to an organisation? year anniversary issue of the Index which aggregated the survey’s findings over the course of a decade. The report includes the results of 1.6 million About us individuals interviewed across the globe since 2009. Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) is a leading international The result is one of the biggest surveys into giving ever charity registered in the United Kingdom, with produced. nine offices covering six continents. We work with All fieldwork has been conducted by the market research partners across industry, government and individual firm, Gallup1, as part of its World Poll initiative2. philanthropists to ensure vital funding reaches charities around the world. This enables us to deliver on what As the pandemic unfolded in March 2020, Gallup paused we strive to be all about – which is to play our part in data collection to conduct a risk assessment and put in providing a fair and sustainable future for all. place contingency plans for continuing the research. By May 2020, Gallup decided that continuing with face to We are CAF and we make giving count. face interviewing (the usual data collection method in 1 Gallup website: www.gallup.com/home.aspx 2 Gallup World Poll website: https://www.gallup.com/analytics/318875/global-research.aspx 4 Solidarity across the globe The CAF World Giving Index offers a unique glimpse of global trends in generosity. It enables us to provide answers to questions about where people are most likely to engage in social activities for the benefit of their communities and to champion the growth of global giving. The extraordinary events of the past year have reinforced what we have observed for some time, that civil society has historically existed and collaborated on an international level. It provides major hubs and platforms for cross-border giving, enabling all kinds of acts of solidarity across the globe. The significance and importance of this ability to act across borders has become more apparent than ever during the Covid-19 pandemic, as societies and communities around the world have found themselves in need of support or in a position to offer it to others. To help maximise the potential that exists around the globe, CAF works to ensure the safe and effective cross border delivery of donor funds to charities. In 2019/2020 that work resulted in over £700 million granted by the CAF Group into over 100 countries. CAF has consistently called for governments, policy makers and international funders to ensure the building blocks are in place to allow not only cross-border giving to flourish, but for local, middle-class giving to be nurtured in order to build sustainability. To arrive there; Governments need to: n make sure that civil society organisations are regulated in a fair, consistent and open way n make it easy for people to give and offer incentives for giving where possible n promote civil society as an independent voice in public life and respect the right of not-for-profit organisations to speak out on important issues International funders need to: n fund organisations which support donors and civil society organisations in building resilience and the infrastructure that can continue to generate funds for civil society even after aid ends n fund local organisations directly to improve the accountability and efficiency of aid n recognise the importance of helping grantees to build sustainable domestic support and fund accordingly Civil society organisations need to: n ensure good governance and be honest about impact to build public trust in civil society organisations n meaningfully engage local communities in decision making so civil society becomes locally owned n recognise and build on traditional forms of giving to create organisations and a culture of giving which works to the strengths of the local context, helping them not only to survive but thrive. 5 key findings The most generous country in the world is Indonesia. Indonesia is ranked first in the CAF World Giving Index with a score of 69, up from 59 the last time a yearly Index was published in 2018, when it also ranked first in the Index. More than eight in 10 Indonesians donated money this year and the country’s rate of volunteering is more than three times the global average. The Top 10 most generous countries has changed substantially in 2020. Many of the countries which have consistently featured in the Top 10 have fallen far down the rankings in this report. The United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and the Netherlands have all seen significant decreases in their Index scores.