Page 10 - ACF Young Australians Research Report

2.1 Purpose of study
This research study seeks to extend upon earlier empirical research conducted by the ACF on Australian Workplace Giving trends including the 2013 report, ‘Engagement: Recognising the Value of Workplace Giving’7, and the report prepared by the Social Impact Hub, ‘Reviewing and Revitalising Workplace Giving’8. While the previous reports surveyed general opinions of Workplace Giving as well as a holistic review of the system, this research aims to focus on a subset of existing and potential Workplace Giving participants, the motivations of Young Australians.
Despite the importance of engaging Young Australians in Workplace Giving, staff participation and organisational engagement with such programs has plateaued over time for this demographic. More than 90% of employers face challenges engaging younger employees to participate in existing WGPs9. 80% of employers agree that their current employee giving models need to be revamped to attract more participation from
this demographic10. Considering the growing macro-trends of technology and social media, a new and more impactful approach is required to engage younger workers in this initiative11.
2.2 Breakdown of research aims
The aim of this project is to understand what motivates Young Australians to become Workplace Giving donors, and ascertains what, if any, are the barriers to donating.
Through primary research, this project aims to elucidate the following characteristics of Young Australians:
• Their level of awareness in relation to payroll giving
• Their current level of participation and engagement with payroll giving. – What are the giving habits of current donors?
– What organisations/causes attract the most donations?
• How to motivate Young Australians to participate in WGPs
Firstly, the study aims to uncover Young Australians’ familiarity with payroll giving. A key barrier to payroll giving that was identified in a previous ACF survey was lack of awareness of WGPs: the survey showed that 27% of respondents that were not participating in payroll giving were unaware that their organisation offered such an initiative12. This research intends to determine whether this trend is also true of Young Australians. If so, increasing awareness of existing programs would be an effective strategy to boost engagement.
Secondly, this study aims to determine Young Australians’ general giving habits and preferences. Understanding the present giving behaviour of this group will help determine the most effective incentives to increase and sustain giving behaviour.
Finally, this project hopes to explore the motivations that influence Young Australians to donate a percentage of their income via payroll giving programs. Identifying the key motivators will assist in developing an effective strategy to engage Young Australians.
2.3 Timeline
The project was conducted over a 14 week period. Survey responses were collected over a five week period and interviews were conducted over a three week period.
7. Australian Charities Fund, ‘Engagement: Recognising the Value of Workplace Giving’.
8. Rose Khattar, Jillian Kornie, Hilary Qin and Jeffrey Yuan, ‘Reviewing and Revitalizing Workplace Giving’ (Report, Social Impact Hub, 2015).
9. Pro Bono Australia, Emerging Trends in Workplace Giving (13 November 2013) Pro Bono Australia, 2015 .
10. Pro Bono Australia, Emerging Trends in Workplace Giving.
11. Achieve, ‘The 2013 Millennial Impact Report: Connect, Involve, Give (Report, The Case Foundation, 2014).
12. Australian Charities Fund, ‘Engagement: Recognising the Value of Workplace Giving’, 8.
8 YOUNG AUSTRALIANS; MOTIVATIONS FOR WORKPLACE GIVING | 2016