Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-fvjsw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-15T11:51:26.545Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Data sources and estimates of charitable giving in Britain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Norman Lee,
Peter Halfpenny,
Andrew Jones and
Heather Elliot
Norman Lee
Affiliation:
School of Economic Studies, University of Manchester
Andrew Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Economics and Related Studies, University of York
Heather Elliot
Affiliation:
Centre for Applied Social Research, University of Manchester
Get accessRights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper describes how estimates of individual charitable giving are derived from two major continuous surveys: the Family Expenditure Survey and the Individual Giving Survey. It explores the reasons for and the significance of the differences between the two estimates. Conclusions are drawn on the relative merits and demerits of the two survey datasets, and the circumstances in which it might be appropriate to use each of them.

Résumé

Résumé

L’article décrit deux enquêtes majeures, la Family Expenditure Survey (Enquête sur les Dépenses Familiales) et la Individual Giving Survey (Enquête sur les Dons Individuels) sur lesquelles se basent les estimations des dons individuels aux oeuvres de bienfaisance. Il analyse les raisons et la signification de la différence entre les deux estimations et tire des conclusions quant aux avantages et aux inconvénients des deux sources de données et aux circonstances justifiant l’utilisation soit de l’une, soit de l’autre.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

Der vorliegende Artikel stellt dar, wie Schätzungen zum individuellen Spendenaufkommen aus zwei größeren kontinuierlichen Erhebungen abgeleitet werden können. Es werden die Gründe für Unterschiede zwischen verschiedenen Schätzverfahren dargestellt. Der Artikel kommt zu Schlußfolgerungen über die relativen Vor- und Nachteile der beiden Datensätze und über die Bedingungen, unter denen sie jeweils anwendbar sind.

Resumen

Resumen

En este escrito se describe cómo los cálculos de donativos benéficos individuales provienen de dos importantes encuestas realizadas continuamente: la Encuesta Sobre Gastos Familiares y la Encuesta Sobre Donaciones Individuales. En el escrito se examinan los motivos y la trascendencia de las diferencias entre los dos cálculos. Se sacan conclusiones de los méritos y deméritos relativos de los conjuntos de datos de ambas encuestas, y de la circunstancias en las que pudiera ser apropiado utilizar cada una de ellas.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , February 1995, pp. 39 - 66
Copyright
Copyright © International Society for Third-Sector Research 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

*

Peter Halfpenny would like to thank the Leverhulme Trust for a research grant to support the work on which this paper is based; also the four authors would like to thank the University of Manchester for financial assistance from the Faculty of Economic and Social Studies’ Research Sub-Committee; the ESRC for a research grant (Award number R000221141); Charities Aid Foundation for allowing use of the IGS data; and John Roberts and Richard Marriott for their help with extracting and analysing the FES data. Material from the FES made available by the CSO through the ESRC Data Archive has been used by permission of the Controller of HM Stationery Office. None of these individuals or organisations bears any responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented in this paper.

References

Central Statistical Office (CSO) (1991) Family Spending: A Report on the 1990 FES, London, HMSO.Google Scholar
Central Statistical Office (CSO) (1992) Family Spending: A Report on the 1991 FES, London, HMSO.Google Scholar
Central Statistical Office (CSO) (1993) Economic Trends: Annual Supplement, 1993 edition, London, HMSO.Google Scholar
Clare, R. and Scott, M. (1993) Charities’ contribution to gross domestic product: the results of the CSO survey of charities, 1990 and 1991, Economic Trends, 482, 134–41.Google Scholar
Deaton, A. S. and Irish, M. (1984) Statistical models for zero expenditures in household budgets, Journal of Public Economics, 23, 59–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliott, H. and Halfpenny, P. (1994) Extracting data on charitable giving from the Family Expenditure Survey, ESRC Data Archive Bulletin, ESRC Data Archive, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex.Google Scholar
Department of Employment (1992) Family Expenditure Survey [computer file and associated documentation], ESRC Data Archive, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex.Google Scholar
Halfpenny, P. and Lowe, D. (1994) Individual Giving and Volunteering in Britain, 7th edition, Charities Aid Foundation, Tonbridge, Kent.Google Scholar
Halfpenny, P. and Pettipher, C. (1992) Individual Giving and Volunteering in Britain, 5th edition, Charities Aid Foundation, Tonbridge, Kent.Google Scholar
Halfpenny, P. and Tice, A. (1993) Individual Giving and Volunteering in Britain, 6th edition, Charities Aid Foundation, Tonbridge, Kent.Google Scholar
Scott, Hemmington (1994) The Henderson Top 2000 Charities 1994: A Guide to UK Charities, London, Hemmington Scott Publishing.Google Scholar
Home, S. and Worthington, S. (1993) Affinity cards: how to ensure a beneficial relationship, in Saxon-Harrold, S.K.E. and Kendall, J. (eds) Researching the Voluntary Sector, 1st edition, Charities Aid Foundation, Tonbridge, KentGoogle Scholar
Jones, A.M. and Posnett, J. (1991) Charitable donations by UK households: evidence from the family expenditure survey, Applied Economics, 23, 343–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, A. and Marriott, R. (1994) The economics of charitable giving and taxation policy, paper presented at an ESRC funded DEMOS/Non-Profit Studies Symposium on Public Policy and the Economics of Voluntary and Non-Profit Organisations, University of Bristol, April.Google Scholar
Kemsley, W.F.F., Redpath, R.U. and Holmes, M. (1980) Family Expenditure Survey Handbook, HMSO, London.Google Scholar
Lee, N. (1989) Sources of charity finance in the United Kingdom: an overview, in Lee, N. (ed.) Sources of Charity Finance, Charities Aid Foundation, Tonbridge, Kent.Google Scholar
McQuillan, J. (ed.) (1992) Charity Trends, 15th edition, Charities Aid Foundation, Tonbridge, Kent.Google Scholar
National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) (1992) The Likely Impact of the National Lottery on Charitable Donation Income: Summary of the Findings of an NOP Survey with NCVO Analysis, Economic Policy Team, NCVO, London.Google Scholar
Posnett, J. (1993) The resources of registered charities in England and Wales — 1990/91, in Saxon-Harrold, S.K.E. and Kendall, J. (eds) Researching the Voluntary Sector, 1st edition, Charities Aid Foundation, Tonbridge, Kent.Google Scholar
Posnett, J. (1988) An analysis of the distribution of charitable donations from the 1984 Family Expenditure Survey, in McQuillan, J. (ed.) Charity Trends, 11th edition, Charities Aid Foundation, Tonbridge, Kent.Google Scholar