Around 16 million people donated money to charitable organizations or churches in the first nine months of the current year. Compared to the same period in 2021, the number of sponsors fell by 0.8 million people. The percentage of donors in the population fell by 1.2 percentage points to 24.1 percent.

"The new record high in donations is incredibly gratifying, especially against the background of the high rate of inflation," said Max Mälzer, Managing Director of the German Donations Council. However, the decline in the number of donors to the level of 2019 and 2020 is a downer.

An average of 41 euros was handed over per donation. This is the highest value since the survey began in 2005. Each donor made an average of 5.8 donations. It was about as common in the same period last year.

Humanitarian aid again accounted for the lion's share of the aid funds at 76.7 percent - in the previous year 78.5 percent. All other parts of humanitarian aid, such as development aid, education or child and youth welfare, lost compared to the same period last year.

The volume of donations for refugee aid more than quadrupled compared to the first nine months of 2021. It grew from 207 million euros to 949 million euros. The number of donors increased by 254 percent to 6.7 million and the average donation increased from 40 euros to 71 euros.

According to the Donors Council, it can be assumed that the donations made as part of the Ukraine aid were decisive for the increase. While in 2021, the year of the flood disaster in West Germany, local projects in particular received strong support, this year 50 percent of the projects were international.

The Germans also supported sport with a plus of 41 million euros and animal welfare with a plus of nine million euros. Less money flowed among other things for the protection of nature, environment and climate as well as the preservation of culture and monuments. The generation over 70 donated the most at 44.5 percent. However, their average donation volume fell slightly.

The forecast for the year as a whole looks good, subject to further inflation developments. It is expected that the record level of 2021 can be maintained. 43 percent of people plan to donate as much money in the next twelve months as they are doing now, twelve percent more or even significantly more. The figures are based on continuous written surveys by the GfK Institute with a representative sample of ten thousand panel participants.