South Africans appear to be a nation of givers — in an average month, a massive 93% of people part with time, money or goods to assist a cause or an individual.
According to a national survey, almost R930-million was mobilised during October and November 2003 for development and anti-poverty work.
The study, a collaborative effort between the National Development Agency, the Centre for Civil Society and the Southern African Grantmakers’ Association, said giving seems ”ingrained”, with both rich and poor equally likely to perform acts of generosity.
South Africans of Indian descent consistently spend most money on helping the needy, while black South Africans are more willing to volunteer their time. The poor (23%) are also more likely to have volunteered than their wealthier counterparts (17%).
Causes considered most deserving are dominated by three categories: those associated with children or youth (22%), HIV/Aids (21%) and the poor (20%).
Analysed across race groups, coloureds and blacks see those affected by HIV/Aids as a priority when giving, compared with Indian and white respondents, who regard children and young people as most in need of support.
However, concern with the poor declines as education levels rise, with just 14% of tertiary-educated respondents mentioning the less fortunate as a deserving group.
Most people give out of a feeling of ”human solidarity” — some because it appears to be a rational decision to try to help tackle poverty — and a smaller group gives to the poor for religious reasons.
Researchers pointed out that helping the poor is widely regarded as an important part of building a new South Africa, indicating ”the broad popular support for the government’s pro-poor policies and programmes”.
While South Africans were found to be highly motivated to give to local causes, they were significantly less so regarding international efforts: fewer than one in 10 respondents had ever given money to specifically global causes.
Overall, people prefer giving to causes that seek a longer-term solution rather than short-term charitable interventions, although a significant proportion see the value of such interventions, the study said.
”There seems a solid support base for a wide range of organisations and campaigns, from social movements through to more traditional charities. This is a positive finding for the non-profit sector as whole, particularly organisations that use advocacy, lobbying and local organisational work alongside developmental work,” the report concluded.
On the net:
The full survey