Red Nose Day: English more tightfisted than Scottish, despite stereotype
YOU’VE heard the jokes about Scottish people being tight fisted. However, ‘throwing his money around like a Scotsman with no arms’ doesn’t hold any water when you discover that it is in fact the English who are tightwads.
On this Red Nose Day – the day where comedy raises money for good causes, yet weirdly, acts as the single most depressing day in the calendar – a study of British philanthropy found that the Scottish are much more generous than the folk south of the border.
Although, on the whole, Britons are generally pretty tight fisted, and over half believe there is no obligation to give to those in need, even if we can afford to.
The survey for New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) found that over 60% of the UK gives less that £50 per year to charity and that men give more money to causes than women. People in the South and East are giving less than those who reside in poorer areas.
NPC chief executive thinks this is all “shocking”, saying:
“As the state withdraws from many areas where it once offered support, charities are increasingly being expected to fill in the gaps. Now more than ever, it is crucial that we understand who is giving money to charity, why they are doing so and how we might encourage them to donate more.”
The biggest charitable donors hail from the Midlands, while Scotland was the country with the highest donations (a third more than Londoners, despite the fact they earn 25% more on average than the whole of Scotland). The smallest donors came from the North East.
The tightest people in the UK are aged 45 to 54 while the over-65s give the most. The babyboomers there, who promised so much and gave back so very, very little.
Posted: 15th, March 2013 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
