Voluntary Work and NGOs: there still work to do to reinforce the trust and favor more donations

Compared to the previous year, fewer people are doing voluntary work: compared to 2018, in 2019 figures dropped of 4,8 percentage points, from 28.5% to 23.7%. On the other hand, there are still high levels of trust towards NGOs: more than half of the global population trusts NGOs (55,1%). Despite the high levels of trust, only one out of ten declares to “totally trust” NGOs; Italy is among the most skeptic countries when it comes to the trust given to NGOs and Non-Profit Organizations.

Despite the level of trust, not many people donate to NGOs. The percentage of people donating varies according to the cause that it supports. The NGOs that receive more donations are the ones that give support for the development of the poorest countries and children (24.4%), followed by the ones that work for the environment (water, pollution, plastic, and animals 22.5%), and fewer people donate to scientific/medical research (15.7%).           

These are a few of the insights coming from the WIN World Survey 2019, the research carried out by WIN, International Network of market research and opinion poll, that surveyed over 29 thousand people in 40 countries on Voluntary Work and NGOs. Doxa is founding member of WIN.

Devote some time to voluntary work is definitely deemed as a beneficial action to the whole community, but in 2019 the percentage of people doing some voluntary work decreased on a global level of 4,8 percentage points compared to the previous year (23,7% compared to 28,5% in 2018). These insights come from the latest WIN World Survey 2019, carried out by WIN, International Network of market research and opinion poll, that surveyed 29.368 citizens from 40 countries all over the world to collect opinions on voluntary work and NGOs. Doxa is founding member of WIN.

VOLUNTARY WORK: WHO’S THE MOST GENEROUS? – Australia (63.3%) and Paraguay (51.6%) are the countries where the highest percentage of people devote some of their free time to Non-Profit organizations or NGOs to volunteer without receiving any salary in exchange. In contrast, Pakistan (4.6%) and South Korea (5.1%) are the countries with the lowest rates of voluntary work. Globally, the youngest people and citizens with higher education are more likely to devote some of their free time to voluntary work.

TRUST IN NGOs – Over half of the world´s population (55.1%) trust Non-Profit Organizations, but among them only 9.7% totally trust NGOs. The countries that show the highest level of trust in this type of organizations are China (97.0%), India (85.4%) and Nigeria (82.9%) while the lowest levels of trust are registered in Japan (32.0%), Croatia (31.6%) and Italy (28.2%). Among regions, the highest level of trust is registered in Africa (78.3%), where people are probably more aware of the work NGOs do in their region.

DONATIONS TO NGOs –  On one hand, general levels of trust towards NGOs are high, but the percentage of people donating is definitely lower and strictly related to the type of cause supported. The NGOs that receive more donations are the ones that give support for the development of the poorest countries and children (24.4%), followed by the ones that work for the environment -water, pollution, plastic, animals (22.5%) and fewer people donate to scientific/medical research (15.7%).

Vilma Scarpino, President of WIN International Association said:

“The WIN Worldwide Survey shows that despite the majority of the population declare high levels of trust towards NGOs, only a few dedicate some time to voluntary work or make donations. These results highlight NGOs’ need to show their work and increase people´s confidence and concrete support.”

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