An Unprecedent Study on French People’s Opinion on Philanthropy
By Diane Abel, Editorial and Research Manager, Admical
As Originally Featured on CECP’s Insights Blog
On October 2017, Admical, a Paris-based NGO and the French Local Authority of the Global Exchange, published a first-of-its-kind study in partnership with the institute of studies Kantar Public, which aimed to understand French people’s opinion on philanthropy.
Built on a two-phase methodology, the qualitative phase was composed of two focus groups, and, through the quantitative phase, a questionnaire was administrated to a sample of 1,006 people. The research had three objectives:
- Measure the awareness of corporate and individual philanthropy in France
- Evaluate the public perception of philanthropy: how do people perceive philanthropists and which images could define them?
- Understand the population’s expectations on this subject.
Finding #1: Philanthropy appears to be well appreciated and very useful
More than 8 out of 10 French people know the word « mécénat » (philanthropy). Sixty-one percent of respondents consider it an important tool for funding societal projects, and 1/3 of French citizens think that it will become more important in the future.
People also assigned very positive values to philanthropy, such as commitment, sharing, innovation, passion, dynamism, ethics, and authenticity. For French people, philanthropy represents a real opportunity to create social relationships and welfare, and to give a better image of the country.
