YouGov survey: Seven out of ten donate, almost half volunteer
During the Christmas season, the topics 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 material goods.
The most common cause for donations is humanitarian aid after crises (41 percent). Women support such humanitarian causes significantly more often than men (47 vs. 35 percent). In contrast, men donate above average to nature conservation and environmental protection (40 percent) (45 vs. 36 percent). Social causes (40 percent) and health organizations (36 percent) follow closely behind. There are regional differences: people in German-speaking Switzerland donate money more frequently (68 percent).
Personal values as the strongest motivator—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 still important for around half of them. Emotional attachment (29 percent), proximity to the issue (24 percent), and visible, measurable results (25 percent) follow at a considerable distance. Regionally, the importance of proximity is particularly high in Ticino, where local ties are given greater weight when it comes to 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 percent) and uncertainty about how the funds are used (26 percent).
There are regional differences in terms of trust in organizations. Only 11 percent of people in German-speaking Switzerland say they do not trust church organizations – in French-speaking Switzerland (23 percent) and Ticino (22 percent), this proportion is significantly higher.
Volunteering: Almost one in two people do volunteer work
Almost half of the Swiss population did volunteer work last year (47 percent). Among those who did, it was particularly common in sports clubs (31 percent). This was followed by social organizations (22 percent), community and neighborhood organizations (20 percent), churches, leisure clubs, and cultural associations (19 percent each).
In German-speaking Switzerland, volunteer work is carried out in church organizations at an above-average rate (22 percent compared to 11 and 9 percent in French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino, respectively).
Motivations for volunteering – community stronger than with donations
As with donations, personal values and life experiences are the most important motivators (65 percent). However, in contrast to donations, a sense of community plays a significantly greater role in volunteer work (45 percent vs. 24 percent 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 percent) follow behind.
Volunteering is often initiated by the immediate environment: through personal requests (48 percent) or contacts within one's own circle.
