Over Half Of Romanians Do Nothing For Charity – Survey

However, the survey says that although over 50% of Romanians don’t get involved in charitable projects, Romanians are generous and over 38% give money to charity and volunteer for charity every year. Also, 7% of Romanians donate goods to charity.

„More than half (of Romanians) don’t get involved in charitable causes. When asked why not, 36% said they can’t afford to and 19% said they are not interested in such causes. Of those who donate money, two thirds give EUR1 to EUR200 a year. NGOs for children, humanitarian aid and religious organizations, but also projects to help disaster-hit areas are among the most popular causes Romanians support,” the survey notes.

One third of Romanians say they give money to charitable causes every year, which places Romania midway in the world ranking by money donations, despite the economic situation.

In Europe and the United States, the percentage of people making charitable donations is similar, at 35%, while the Dutch, British and Swedish are the most generous. Two thirds of people in the Netherlands and half in Britain and Sweden give money to charitable causes every year.

The number of people who volunteer for charity on their spare time is lower in Romania compared to other countries, as only 2% of Romanians volunteer.

Most donors give to causes helping children and fighting to eradicate poverty. Organizations helping children in need get the biggest support from Europeans (nearly 40%), followed by humanitarian aid projects (34%) and research in the health sector (26%).

In Romania, children in need, humanitarian and religious organizations have received the most donations (79% and 30%, respectively), followed closely by fund-raising campaigns to help disaster-hit areas (29%).

„This places Romania ahead of all other European countries when it comes to involvement in religious causes. Only Germany and the United States have similar level of generosity toward religious causes, with 27% and 35%, respectively,” the survey found.

Two thirds of Romanians who donate money to charity give between EUR1 and EUR200 a year, while just 6% donate EUR200 to EUR500. However, the percentage of people who donate more than EUR200 is triple compared to Central Europe.

The survey was conducted in spring this year and questioned 13,950 people aged over 15 in 14 different countries.