Do you still give to charity?

drc

When out shopping today I noticed the Big Issue seller and it made be wonder how charities and things like the Big Issue have been affected by the financial crisis. I wonder if a lot of people have stopped giving charitable donations, as the crunch bites are these some of the first things to go? Are we as a nation as altruistic as we think and when push comes to shove do we stop giving to hold on to the 'pennies'?

I still give although I'm not keen on the Big Issue at the best of times, so prefer to give to my chosen charities.

Mr_Matey

Yes, I still pay taxes and NI.

We do give to the RSPCA, and for the Vic Bushfire Appeal though.

Rikki

Yes, the ones that have had an impact on my family life.

Plus the Poppy Appeal out of respect for our armed forces past and present.

nementai

I've reconciled my 3 x £5 a month donations as my 'treats' - I give them instead of having a coffee on the way to work etc. I don't feel I need the £15 a month (I certainly wouldn't turn down the cash, but I don't miss it IYSWIM) and I feel like part of working hard and doing mystery shopping from time to time lets me have a few 'luxuries'.
In fact, I expect I'm saving money, because when I let go of the reigns I tend to splurge on luxury items - I am a t-total shoppaholic! So by setting up small DDs, I feel like I've blown some money on non-essentials which satisfies my craving, as well as done something more useful than buy trash magazines with it.
Plus the adverts on TV don't make me cry so much!
Win win really!

penguine

Yes, I have 3 monthly direct debits set up to charity and I've increased one of them recently.

stevetodd

I donate to the RSPCA by direct debit and make one off donations to the dogs trust and others. I also do volunteer work for several dog rescue charities

beecher

I donate to the local hospice by direct debit. Don't tend to give to many other charities. I wouldn't think many would cancel direct debits til things got really bad, but they might stop giving to street collections.

JustKeepSwimming_2

Long time lurker here - I still have my monthly dds set up for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust (£6), Guide Dogs (£5) & I sponsor an African girl via Plan (£12) which I have no intention of stopping. I also give to "one offs" eg: Gaza appeal, Comic Relief, local charities etc.

I'm lucky as I don't have any debts, except a mortgage & student loan (& they don't really count :rolleyes:), but I'm self employed with little job security. I've never been a spender, always preferring to save up rather than get a loan for things, & I've become quite frugal, thanks to this site. I'd rather give up my "leisure money" than stop my charity donations.

My local charity shops have all noticed more customers in the last few months, but less donations as previously mentioned somewhere on this forum.

piggeh

I'll shortly be stopping my monthly direct debits to the local trust, but only as I'm unemployed and trying to make income match outgoings.

pebblespop

we gave money to charity in a one-off donation and i am sure the charity have spent more than our donation on letters etc trying to get us to give more.

oldMcDonald

We donate monthly to The Woodland Trust, RSPB and we also sponser a child. These are very important commitments that we have made and will always be priority payments.