Giving to charity continues to grow, despite uncertainty

Charitable giving in Australia grew in the year to August, with people continuing to give more to charity despite persistent doubt about the economy.

Overall giving to charity grew by 4.9 per cent in the 12 months to August 2015. However, this is down from growth of 7.8 per cent the previous year.

This was achieved despite subdued household income and wages growth and an uncertain economic outlook. The average donation size across all charities actually grew by $9 to $346 per donor, with average annual donation size increasing in all charity categories.

Middle Park in Victoria once again recorded the highest donation amount, with average donations of $342 per person. Mosman in NSW was next best, with average donations of $268 per person.

In terms of giving as a percentage of income, Castlemaine in Victoria continues to lead the country for generosity, donating 0.36 per cent of their annual incomes, closely followed by Sturt, Prospect and Leabrook in South Australia and Blaxland in NSW, all donating 0.33 per cent.

Humanitarian Services charities continue to attract the biggest market share of all donations, with 35 per cent of all donations. Health & Disability and Charitable Lotteries received the next biggest share (12%), with Community Services (11%) and Cancer charities (9%) the next biggest.

For further analysis download the full report:

NAB Charitable Giving index: Indepth report – 12 months to August 2015 (PDF, 190 KB)

For more, call your NAB Relationship Manager, email community@nab.com.au or contact:

Alan Oster
Group Chief Economist
National Australia Bank
+61 (0) 3 8634 2927
Alan.Oster@nab.com.au