Scrooge Awards Xmas 2009

from the Charities Advisory Trust

This is the 8th annual Scrooge Award. Each year the Charities Advisory Trust surveys high street retailers, to see who is using charity to help boost sales but actually giving very little to charity.

Charity cards used to be an important way of earning money for charities. People bought charity cards to show their friends that they were caring, decent people. Realising that it was a profitable market, high street retailers decided to muscle in on the charity card market as a way to boost their sales. With no legislation to control the amount going to charity, companies could give as little a 2% to charity and still label the card as charity card. Years of campaigning by the Charities Advisory Trust has successfully pushed the charity donation to a minimum of 10% for most cards (though see the Scrooge Awards for the recidivists!) But now, retailers are slashing prices, this undermines sales of real charity cards, those sold through the charities and through temporary charity Christmas card shops, where 40-60% of the purchase price goes to the charity work.

Publishers wanting to boost their sales by producing 'charity' cards, not surprisingly approach the large, well known national charities for licensing deals. More surprising is the fact these charities do not negotiate better deals, with 10% an accepted minimum.

Most high street retailers have, over the years, become more careful to adhere to the 10% to charity benchmark, after all, who wants to be nominated as the meanest retailers on the high street (as highlighted in the Charities Advisory Trust's annual Scrooge Awards).

But Harrods and Cards Galore are resistant to change and so once more, the Scrooge Award goes to Cards Galore. Out of 36 designs on show, 35 gave below 10% to charity. Also, the cards with the lowest percentage going to charity were found at Cards Galore; six Jodds designs at a staggering price of 90p each (more than twice the price of an average card) with less than 4.5% going to British Heart Foundation. High profits for someone but not the charity.

The Georgy Porgy award for greed is shared between Harrods and Fenwicks. Over half of their cards gave less than 10% to charity.

Equally disturbing: shops are offering 3 for 2 on charity cards -- further cutting the amount to charity. Dame Hilary Blume Director of the Charities Advisory Trust comments, "what do we say to a child in Africa? Sorry, you can't eat every third day because a lady in the UK needed to save money on her Christmas cards. Discounting on charity donations is scarcely appropriate."

Now too, retailers are using charity cards as loss leaders. Last Christmas, too late to be included in our 2008 survey, Tesco was offering charity cards at 2.75p each, so although 10% went to charity, this was merely 2.75p a pack and undermines charity cards. People are prepared to pay a premium for charity cards, but if they are offered very cheaply they will of course, buy them. The reason for buying charity cards is largely to show your friends and family you are a caring person. This should be at some cost. It's like buying Prada or Gucci fakes.

What happened to the 2.5% reduction in VAT? The retailers got the lion's share.

Any bright spots? Well, charity supporters seem more loyal this year, keener to buy genuine cards, Best sellers (it's a bit early to be definite) look like Card Aid's Christmas Books and pop-up London Vista.

Does it matter? Well, it matters to the child in Africa who goes hungry. From just one Card Aid card a child in Africa can be fed for a day. The money from just one pack of cards can pay for a course of life saving penicillin or a year's protection against river blindness; and last year Card Aid raised enough to pay for a Card Aid research fellow working to combat cancer with Lord Winston's team at Imperial College. Never say it is just a card. A real charity card offers real help to those in need.

For more information please contact Dame Hilary Blume or Avril Jean Marie on 0207 794 9835 or email: people@charitiesadvisorytrust.org.uk. If you want to view the full research data please just ask.