Russia rises in global charity rankings

Russia once again increases its charity ranking

 

30.10.2018

 

Research undertaken by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has showed a global decline in the percentage of those making charitable donations, whilst at the same time recording an increase in the number of people who are helping strangers and acting as volunteers.

 

In 2018, Russia occupied 110th place in the global private charity rankings (World Giving Index), a rise of four places compared to last year. According to the CAF study, the percentage of those making donations to Russian NGOs has increased from 17%-21%, with the ratio of Russians who provided help to strangers during the month prior to the poll going up from 30%-44%. The number of citizens acting as volunteers was 11%, down 1% on the previous year. “It’s great to see Russia moving up the rankings year on year. This reflects well on the efforts of thousands of NGOs who are making a major contribution to the development of a charity culture in our country”, said Maria Chertok, CEO of CAF (Russia).

 

Indonesia was top, followed by Australia and New Zealand in second and third place respectively. Myanmar, which was top last year, has dropped to ninth place which researchers attribute to a fall in the number of volunteers in that country. It was also noted that for the first time, Haiti and Singapore were in the top 20 leading nations in the rankings, with Libya in top spot for providing help to strangers.

 

The study also shows that in many countries there are more male than female volunteers (22.6% and 19.5% respectively). At the same time, experts note that the rise in volunteer activity is particularly linked to the increasing role being played by women in society.

 

However, the research didn’t show any significant differences between the sexes when it came to donations. Experts noted that overall involvement in charity work is increasing in countries that are in crisis and where there is civil war and armed conflict. According to the CAF, this shows that helping one’s neighbour remains one of the best human instincts in any kind of situation.

 

“The way people all over the world help each other by making donations or becoming volunteers is always a great source of inspiration and commands respect. Helping one’s neighbour is one of the basic human traits and it’s always amazing to see how people actively help those who are directly affected by regional conflicts and natural disasters. However, the decline in the number of people donating to charity worldwide also needs to be addressed. This is a reminder to all civil society organisations not to take public donations for granted and to always interact with and encourage donors”, said John Lowe, CAF’s Executive Director.

 

Global charity ratings are based on Gallup’s World View Poll, with a country’s ranking determined by three indicators: charity donations, volunteering and helping a stranger in need.

 

The country’s rating is being published less than a month before the International Charity Day #GenerousTuesday, which was first held in Russia in 2016. This year’s event will be held on 27 November. More than 200 Russian cities have taken part in the two years of the campaign during which a variety of charity events have been organised.

 

This year, the CAF is celebrating its 25th anniversary and has produced a report on “25 years of social change” which highlights the achievements of the NGO sector during that time.

 

Source: https://www.asi.org.ru/news/2018/10/30/rossiya-vnov-podnyalas-v-mirovom-rejtinge-blagotvoritelnosti/

 

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