56% of Belgians donated to charity last year, as a recent survey by the King Baudouin Foundation reveals. The charity had queried 1,000 Belgians in January to discover whether the energy crisis had weighed on their donating habits.
The survey showed how most respondents believed that the war in Ukraine, as well as the pandemic, worsened the economic climate for donations. However, this was not reflected in the foundation’s figures, with six in 10 respondents having donated an average of €250 to charities in 2022.
Indeed, Belgians still view philanthropy as an important value. 77% of those queried believe that donations lead to a better world and a further 46% view it as a moral obligation. However, 63% of respondents admitted that the tax deductions donors receive were also an incentive to donate.
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In terms of where their money went, the survey showed that health and charities as well as those related to medical research were the most popular among 69% of these donors. Humanitarian aid came in second place with 51% of those surveyed, closely followed by social justice charities with 50%.
Meanwhile, a variety of reasons were given by those who chose not to donate. Firstly, the energy crisis and resulting inflation were cited by 75% of them. Lack of information regarding charities was another reason according to 69% of those not donating. Others argued that giving their money would be doing the state's job for them, with some even expressing a general distrust of charitable organisations.
