Global Giving

Belonging, Generosity, and Investing in Our Rangatahi

Every year, the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) releases its global review of generosity, tracking how people around the world support families in need, give to religious organisations, and donate to charities. The graph images in this story are reproduced from the report.

As an organisation that relies on our incredible supporters for over $250,000 in one-off donations every year just to keep our doors open for young people, the latest findings caught our eye. Notably, Oceania (Australia & New Zealand) leads the world in charitable giving, with 51% of respondents donating to a charity—the highest of any region surveyed.

But beyond the numbers, the report dives into why people give. The answer hits close to home for us: belonging.

The CAF report highlights that a local connection and a sense of belonging are massive drivers of generosity. When people feel deeply connected to their community, they are far more likely to support charities making a tangible, local impact. In fact, people in countries with a strong sense of belonging donate three times more than those in countries with low community connection.

At Springboard, we see belonging as a two-way street that transforms both our supporters and our youth:

• For our young people: A sense of belonging tells them they matter, their voices are heard, and their actions have weight. It’s the catalyst that inspires them to get involved, seek employment, and make positive life choices.
• For our supporters: Belonging looks like volunteering, donating, praying, or telling other people about the mahi and the impact happening here in our community.

The report also touched on how governments encourage giving. In our neck of the woods, 48% of respondents pointed to charitable tax breaks as a major incentive for people to give to their charities of choice.

This is particularly relevant right now with the government's upcoming caps on tax breaks for charitable donations over $100,000. Ultimately, the path of these decisions at government level leads to our young people.

In Oceania, health is the number one charitable giving cause, but if there is one ultimate takeaway from the report, it’s this: supporting children and youth ranked in the top five charitable causes in every single region surveyed worldwide.

Believing in the potential of the next generation is a global theme. The world over acknowledges that young people are worth investing in because they are our future and our hope.

When asked why people give, here's a few of the top reasons:

Thank you for being such a vital part of our ecosystem of belonging. Thank you for supporting the young people of your local community. Thank you for making a difference.

Want to dive deeper into the global data? You can read the full Charities Aid Foundation report here.