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BrandVue’s Most Loved Charity Brands 2023

Our latest BrandVue Charities report is a recognition and celebration of the most emotively connected charities in 2023.

Anita Pavic Senior Consultant 9 May 2023
As people become more aware of the hardships of others, they may feel compelled to support organisations that are working to alleviate the suffering of those affected.
We recently launched BrandVue’s Most Loved Charity Brands 2023 report, providing insight into which charities UK supporters have the closest emotional connection with.

Drawing on findings from the report, we’ve a analysed year-on-year changes in Brand Love for UK charities and the findings have shown some noteworthy shifts.

Once again, Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Research UK and Dogs Trust are the UK’s top three charities. But despite another year of consistency across the top organisations, the public’s priorities seem to be evolving.

Some of the biggest risers this year are charities in the Social Justice category, such as Women’s Aid, which is up 19 places since 2022. We also saw Independent Age climb 26 places – the largest increase we’ve seen this year.

Furthermore, we are seeing some positive shifts in the Humanitarian Aid & Relief category – specifically for Project Hope (+23) and The British Red Cross (+16).

So, what exactly influences Brand Love and why does it matter for charities?

The majority of a charity’s success relies on the generous donations of its supporters – and people’s willingness to give is largely determined by the extent to which a given charity’s mission and values aligns with those of the supporter. As such, levels of commitment are often influenced by how much the public loves the brand and its ethos.

Perhaps the rise in Brand Love we are seeing across Humanitarian Aid & Relief and Social Justice charities is a result of the increased media coverage of high-profile global crises – such as the ongoing war in Ukraine and the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake that took the lives of more than 50,000 civilians.

The UK has been involved in providing financial aid to those affected by these conflicts, as well as in-kind aid, including opening up their homes to refugees. As people become more aware of the hardships of others, they may feel compelled to support organisations that are working to alleviate the suffering of those affected. Looking at data from BrandVue Charities, we can see that this increase is led primarily by those ages 45-49, who come from affluent backgrounds.

But support from this market alone is not enough to keep these organisations afloat for the long term. To be successful, charities must focus their efforts on connecting with all age demographics.

Catering to all ages

It will be particularly valuable for charities to identify the differences in donation preference across age groups. Our data shows that younger individuals aged 16-24 tend to take the most convenient route to donating – through SMS/text message – while 35-49-year-olds prefer to donate through websites. Those aged 60-74 are more receptive when approached by campaign workers on the street, suggesting that they may value more traditional methods of giving and personal interaction.

These findings have important implications for charity organisations, particularly in terms of donor acquisition and retention. To establish resilient and meaningful connections with their supporters, understanding donation preferences across demographics is fundamental.

For instance, it could be more worthwhile for charities to station their street-fundraising volunteers in areas that are more heavily populated by older age groups. Furthermore, to encourage younger markets to donate, charities may find success in implementing regular text-message campaigns that make donating via SMS even more engaging.

Charities must leverage these insights to tailor their outreach strategy, and forge stronger, longer-lasting relationships with both current and prospective donors.

After all, more love equals more support, and more support means greater financial stability.

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BrandVue’s Most Loved Charity Brands 2023

Our latest BrandVue Charities report is a recognition and celebration of the most emotively connected charities in 2023.

The research uses BrandVue, Savanta’s daily brand tracking tool, to draw insight from over 60,000 consumers across the 120+ charities and then rates the top 100 brands according to how loved they are by the public.

To see which brands made it to the Top 100 league table, as well as more charity trends and insights, download the free report here.

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