Dip spearheaded by 17-19 year olds, and amongst males “Drop may reflect cuts to youth volunteering initiatives, showing need for better understanding of volunteer recruitment and retention strategies”, vies nfpSynergy’s Saxton The numbers of young people claiming to have volunteered within the last three months dipped by a quarter – from (slide 3) 19% in Nov 2010 to 14% in May 2011 – despite having previously enjoyed a steady rise since May 2008, according to new data out today.

“Depth of public resistance to charities giving to political parties seems profound and unequivocal,” says nfpSynergy’s SaxtonThe British public are happier (slide 2) for foreign businesses (24%), foreign governments (15%), churches and religious organisations (15%) – and even the royal family (13% - 7% saying ‘probably’, 6% ‘definitely’) - to give money to support UK political parties than for UK charities (13% - 10% say ‘probably’, 3% ‘definitely’) to so do, according to new data out today‘Charities’ rank lowest out of a range o

SMS-giving hike largely driven by the young, and by high-profile campaigns like Red Nose Day Gift Aid and an ‘uncertain’ charity sector remain key obstacles to SMS-giving, despite recent successful slashing of VAT and mobile operator charges  “Charities can see the ever-increasing potential but aren’t yet reaping the rewards.

Appeals to existing donors - method most reliant on cheques, and adjudged of greatest concern to anxious fundraisers Negative comments from fundraisers regarding the proposed abolition of cheques outnumber positive comments by 30 to 1  “Already battling a sluggish economy and government spending cuts, any unsupported abolition of cheques in 2018 would deliver a triple whammy for charities indeed,” vies Saxton On average, fundraisers rank themselves as being “8-out-of-10” (scale of 1 to 10) concern

Top UK charities “punch above weight” re Facebook, Twitter and YouTube - compared with private sector giants.

Public see “charity support” as core royal function, saying new royal couple should focus philanthropic efforts on the young, war veterans and the homeless.

However, young people remain generally ‘cautious’ and ‘picky’ re charity celebrity endorsers - especially as they get older“A charity courting youth support must recruit just the right celeb to woo its target age and gender”, vies nfpSynergy’s SaxtonYoung Brits spontaneously name Cheryl Cole, David Beckham, Simon Cowell, then Stephen Fry as the top four celebrities most likely to influence them to support any charity they endorsed - according to data out today.