#firstfiver campaign may have raised £12.5m says CAF research

Howard Lake

News

Nov 14, 2016

Millions of pounds in £5 donations might have been raised for charities since September, thanks to the simple idea behind the #firstfiver campaign. Fundraising consultant John Thompson’s suggestion of donating the first new polymer £5 note that you received to a charity of your choice has taken off across the UK.

Research published today by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), estimates that the campaign has raised up to £12.5m.
CAF commissioned YouGov to carry out polling which found that as many as 2.5 million adults have “have donated their first new £5 note or will be doing so when they receive one”.

In addition the research found that 16% of adults in the UK had heard of the campaign.

#fivergiver results

The CAF YouGov poll of 1,004 UK adults was carried out between 18 and 25 October. It found that:

• More than half of people (58%) have now had received of the new £5 notes, which were put into circulation on 13 September.
• Women are twice as likely than men to be donating their first new fiver to charity (7% vs 3%).
• 16% of people had heard of the campaign to donate a first new £5 note. Adults aged between their teens and their mid-40s are the most likely to have been aware of it. Awareness was highest among 25 to 34 year olds (25%).
• Of those polled, 5% said they either had or would donate their first new £5 note. (2% had done so already, 3% said they would be donating once they received one).

#GivingTuesday

CAF has published details of what one person has achieved through a straightforward suggestion based on the introduction of a new banknote in the run up to #givingtuesday on 29 November. This is a “global day of giving” on which people around the world are invited to give their time, money or voice to a good cause.

CAF, one of Europe’s largest charitable foundations, leads the #givingtuesday campaign in the UK, and all charities, companies and individuals are invited to take part.

This is the third year of #givingtuesday in the UK. Last year the campaign set a Guinness World Record for the most money raised online for charity in 24 hours.

Hannah Terrey, Head of Policy and Campaigns at CAF, said:

“It is fantastic that people been inspired to do something good with their new £5 notes. With this year’s #givingtuesday fast approaching, this is a great example of a simple and easy act of kindness which can really make a difference. Social media campaigns can be a really effective way to get people– particularly younger adults – inspired to support charities.”

She added that doing good on the day “can be as easy as saving that crisp new £5 note on Black Friday and donating it to a charity on #givingtuesday instead.”