In 2024, around 90% of the donations made were concentrated in four major causes: international cooperation (38.4%), health (25.5%), social services (14.8%) and religion (11%). The other five causes identified (human rights; research; environment, flora and fauna; culture, art and humanities; and education and universities) received the remaining 10% of the amount donated (see table for further details). Most of the entities that received donations in 2024 are of a religious nature (68.7%), which shows the extent to which they are spread throughout the country – an advantage for responding better in times of crisis – although they received 11% of the total amount donated (based on financial transactions).
The average donation is 25 euros, although some causes typically receive smaller donations, such as those for human rights and those that support health-related activities. In addition, a given entity receives an average of 230 euros annually from the same donor (although they may donate to multiple NGOs). Religious NGOs receive higher amounts on average (347 euros), followed by educational entities (314 euros) and those dedicated to international cooperation (262 euros), while for those linked to culture and the environment it is around 90-120 euros.
The month of December is the month in which the most donations to NGOs are registered. The December effect (i.e. the increase in donations compared to a typical month) is as high as 21% for an average NGO, indicating a strong seasonality in all cases, although there are differences between them and the effect is more pronounced in education (+42%) and religion (+28%).
Causes which support the environment and education have a higher proportion of young donors than average, while culture, religion and research have a higher proportion of older donors. In terms of income level, culture has a higher proportion of high-income donors, while health-related activities and religion have a higher proportion of low-income donors.
What stands out is the heavy concentration of donations among a handful of organisations. As can be seen in the chart, which shows the cumulative sum of donations according to the percentage of NGOs by decreasing amount, a small number of organisations capture the majority of donations. More specifically, 1.2% of all NGOs (around 25 entities) receive 81% of the annual sum of all donations.
In conclusion, our analysis shows that just a handful of causes and entities receive most of the charitable donations made in Spain, with strong seasonality in December and different patterns according to donors’ age and income level. The richness of this first analysis opens the door to further research on the patterns of solidarity in Spain that allow non-profit organisations to carry out their work.