• Charitable donations by Australian households rose 10% in financial year 2023
• JBWere NAB Charitable Giving Index shows more money was donated to health, culture and the arts
• Beyond Blue CEO said the need for funding across important social causes is vast and growing

New insights from JBWere reveal charitable donations by Australian households rose 10% in financial year 2023, surpassing the previous high recorded at the end of financial year 2019.

The third annual JBWere NAB Charitable Giving Index shows a marked recovery in giving by Australians, with household charitable donations increasing to levels not seen since before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

JBWere Head of Philanthropic Services and Family Advisory Shamal Dass said that while the recovery was pleasing, an estimated $3 billion worth of donations had been lost over the past three years.

“The COVID-19 era was extremely challenging for many charitable organisations,” Mr Dass said.

“Not only did we see a significant drop in giving across the country, but recovery stalled within the general population as many Australians dealt with cost-of-living pressures. These same pressures are driving up demand for services and support that the for-purpose sector provides.

“In that relative context, it is pleasing to see giving by high-net-worth households and corporates continues to see decent growth.”

Health, culture and the arts seeing uptick in funding

According to the 2023 Index, more money was donated to health, culture and the arts (recovering from significant lows), while less went to animal protection and environmental causes – which saw a substantial spike during the 2019 bushfires.

Beyond Blue CEO Georgie Harman said with the need for funding across many social causes growing, philanthropic giving has never been more important.

“At Beyond Blue, we’ve seen a drop in giving since about January 2022,” Ms Harman said.

“This is concerning because more than 300,000 people turn to the Beyond Blue Support Service every year and we anticipate many more will need us in the years ahead due to the many collective stresses and traumatic events we’re experiencing, from the pandemic to cost-of-living pressures to climate change and extreme weather events.

“It often surprises people to learn that the Beyond Blue Support Service is funded entirely by donations and philanthropy. So philanthropic support makes a direct, immediate difference to someone’s life and every dollar counts.”

The details

The full report is available to download on the right-hand side of this page.

NAB Business and Private Banking focuses on the bank’s priority small and medium (SME) customer segments. This includes the NAB Business franchise, specialised Agriculture, Health, Government, Education and Community services along with Private Banking and JBWere, as well as the small business segment. JBWere works with individuals, families, business owners and for-purpose organisations to preserve and enhance wealth in responsible ways.