Charity shops vital to helping people back into work, says Demos survey

According to research by the think tank, two-thirds of charity shop volunteers felt this had helped their employment prospects

Volunteering at charity shops plays a vital role in helping unemployed people gain paid employment and has a positive effect on local communities and high streets, according to new research from the think tank Demos.

The research, which is based partly on a survey of 650 charity shop managers and volunteers carried out in 2016 and 2017, follows similar research released in 2013. Researchers this time found that two-thirds of charity shop volunteers felt their role had improved their employment prospects.

Seventy-five per cent of the volunteers surveyed said they gained new skills, and 73 per cent said volunteering at charity shops had helped their self-esteem and confidence.

Most charity shop managers said they believed charity shops were positive additions to high streets, with about two-thirds saying their premises would otherwise be left empty if the charity shop did not exist.

Demos also found that charity shops saved local councils £27m between 2015 and 2016 by diverting clothes and other goods from landfill.

A separate poll of 2,000 members of the public found a generational divide on whether charity shops were positive for high streets, with younger people more likely to see charity shops as cost-effective, environmentally friendly and trendy.

In contrast, many older people said they thought that the appearance of charity shops was a sign of an unhealthy high street.

According to the research, three-quarters of charity shop managers were satisfied in their roles, although 55 per cent found the job either stressful or very stressful.

Volunteers were generally motivated to help out at charity shops in order to contribute to the specific charity, charity in general or to their communities, the research found.

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Robin Osterley, chief executive of the Charity Retail Association, said: “From environmental benefit and getting people back into work to improving the confidence and wellbeing of the more vulnerable members of our society, charity shops continue to give far-reaching benefits to their local communities.

“In addition, this report makes it clear that a volunteering revolution would not only benefit the sector but would also help communities all over the country.”

The report’s author, Peter Harrison-Evans, said that the charity shop sector faced an “image problem”, despite its positive impact on communities and volunteers.

“Exactly half of those polled wanted to see fewer charity shops on the high street,” he said.

“That said, Demos finds that this view is strongly mediated by the use of charity shops and demographic factors, with younger people far more likely to see them as valuable assets.”

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Under-45s more willing for their parents to leave legacies than expected, survey shows

Two-thirds wanted their parents to leave on average 16 per cent of their wealth to charity, Remember A Charity says

Two-thirds of people aged between 30 and 45 are willing for their elderly parents to leave considerable gifts to charity in their will, a survey by Remember A Charity has found.

In a survey of 1,000 adults aged between 30 and 45 and 1,000 adults aged over 65, Remember A Charity said that most of the younger generation surveyed said they would be happy with their parents donating on average 16 per cent of their estate to charity.

One in 10 people surveyed said they actively encouraged their parents to use their will to do social good, and 5 per cent said they wanted to see the full estate go to charity.

In comparison, the over-65s surveyed thought an average of 5 per cent of their estate should go to charity.

The survey found that these views were held despite the majority of under-45s claiming they worried about their financial future, accounting 83 per cent surveyed.

The survey also found that 67 per cent had scaled down their inheritance expectations, and only three in ten factor inheritance into their long-term financial planning.

Among the over-65s surveyed, 53 per cent said they were worried about their own finances, and 64 per cent said they were concerned about their children’s finances.

Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, said: “This study suggests a shift in attitudes between generations. The older generation is enthused about the concept of leaving a gift, but remains understandably anxious about the need to take care of their families.

“Meanwhile, the under-45s have become less expectant about receiving a sizeable inheritance. They are happy for their parents to make provisions in their will for all those things that matter to them, including good causes.”

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Women more generous for office charity collections, says CAF survey

An online survey for the Charities Aid Foundation finds that 66 per cent of women responded to office charity appeals last year, compared with 49 per cent of men

Women are more generous than men at responding to office charity collections, according to the Charities Aid Foundation.

An online survey of more than 1,000 people commissioned by CAF in March found that 66 per cent of women had responded to office charity appeals in the past year, compared with 49 per cent of men.

Overall, staff donated a mean average of £46.53 over the year. Of the 30 per cent who had sponsored a colleague to do something for charity, the median average donation was £10.

CAF, which is the UK’s largest payroll-giving provider, published the figures to mark the 30th anniversary of payroll giving.

The research, which was conducted by YouGov for CAF’s UK Giving survey, also found that 50 per cent of respondents were unaware of payroll giving.

Klara Kozlov, head of corporate clients at CAF, said charity appeals at work helped to boost morale as well as benefit good causes.

“While most people will find the money to make donations on an ad-hoc basis, some prefer a more structured approach,” she said. “Payroll giving enables people to make donations direct from their pre-tax pay each month.”

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Staff morale at highest level since 2008, Charity Pulse survey finds

The latest survey from Third Sector and Birdsong Charity Consulting finds that 47 per cent of respondents feel morale in their organisation is high

Morale among voluntary sector workers has reached its highest level since 2008, results from Third Sector’s Charity Pulse survey indicate.

The survey, which is carried out annually in partnership with Birdsong Charity Consulting and is in its eleventh year, found improvements in almost all areas relating to staff satisfaction compared with 12 months ago.

Of the 46 areas probed by the questionnaire, 16 showed an improvement on last year and only one was worse than in 2016. The rest remained broadly the same.

The survey found that 47 per cent of respondents said they felt morale in their organisation was high: the highest level recorded since 2008 and a five percentage-point increase on last year.

The lowest level recorded over the past 11 years was in 2008 when just 29 per cent of respondents said morale in their organisation was high.

Slightly more than half of respondents, 51 per cent, said they felt secure in their jobs, up by four percentage points from last year and the highest level since a question on the subject was first included in the study in 2009.

Research found that 70 per cent of respondents said their manager was a good person to work for, up from 57 per cent in 2012.

There were increases of between seven and 11 percentage points in the proportion of respondents who said they felt appreciated, thought their views were listened to by management and did not feel under pressure to work long hours compared with 2016.

But there were some negative long-term trends in areas including workload and internal processes.

The proportion of respondents who said they thought their workload was reasonable fell from 60 per cent 10 years ago to 47 per cent this year, and the proportion who said the results expected of them were realistic fell by 11 percentage points over the same period to 57 per cent this year.

The survey found that just 35 per cent of respondents said their charities’ procedures helped them to carry out their roles effectively, down from 48 per cent in 2010.

“This data suggests that a significant proportion of charities are not taking sufficient action to adjust workloads, to curtail projects or, simply, to stop doing some things,” says the report, produced by Birdsong.

“Staff are being put under greater pressure in the hope that the organisation will be able to ‘muddle through’.”

The survey also showed sharp falls in the proportion of those who were happy with the training or development they receive, which fell from 62 per cent 10 years ago to 47 per cent this year.

Only 36 per cent of respondents said they were happy with the personal development opportunities at their charities, compared with 47 per cent in 2007.

This year’s survey was completed in the spring by 245 people working for more than 110 UK charities.

– The full report will be available from the Birdsong website from Friday

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