Conference examines what makes people give to charity
Howard Lake | 4 July 2003 | News
Sheffield Hallam University has hosted a conference on voluntary sector research, with the keynote address examining what encourages us to donate to charity.
The conference also looked at the problems in researching how much people donate, how often and why. The research looked at all kinds of charitable giving, including buying things in an Oxfam shop, donating to TV appeals, supporting local fetes, or dropping loose change into the local church collecting plate.
The one-day event, held on Wednesday 25 June, brought together over twenty top academics and volunteer workers to lead in debates on current research issues, such as how voluntary organisations are supported and managed, and what part the general public play in their funding.
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A major theme of the conference was the relationship between charities and voluntary organisations and their sources of funding. Researchers had looked at how far reliance on government funding had brought voluntary organisations into the agenda of the government.
The annual conference was organised by the University’s Centre for Voluntary Sector Research (CVSR), one of only a handful of centres in the UK specialising in this kind of research, despite recent statistics estimating that there are over half a million voluntary organisations in the UK.
The CVSR has just completed a mayor study looking at how National Lottery cash is allocated to voluntary organisations. The year-long research was commissioned by the Community Fund, one of the main distributors of Lotto grants, and was carried out in conjunction with the University of Brighton. It examined if grants given to “voluntary sector infrastructure organisations” – that is, organisations that support other projects within the voluntary sector, actually make a difference.
Dr Gareth Morgan, Head of the CVSR, explained the findings: “We found that, in general terms, these grants do result in significant benefits, enabling local voluntary organisations to get the advice, support and training they need to operate.”
‘Proceedings from the Yorkshire Conference on Voluntary Sector Research’ are available, priced £15, from Liz Brearley on 0114 225 4464.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.