KARACHI: Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP) conducted the virtual launch of Pakistan Giving Index (PGI) 2021, a pioneering study to capture the giving behavior of people across the country. Taking inspiration from the World Giving Index report, PGI aims to highlight the patterns and practices of giving in different forms, primary recipients of charity and the perceived impact of giving.
Dr Ashfaque Hassan Khan, Dean/ Principal NUST School of Social Sciences, and Dr Attiya Inayatullah, Chair PCP Research Committee, were the guest speakers at the launch. Shazia Masqood Amjad, Executive Director of PCP, launched the report and presented salient findings.
Shazia Amjad shared that every 8 in 10 Pakistanis have reported giving charity to someone during the last one year. Among the selected sample of 2,000 respondents from across Pakistan, about 84 percent of male and 83 percent of female respondents reported being engaged in charitable giving. The headline finding is that on average, every adult Pakistani spends around Rs 10,000 annually on charity and religion is the major motivation behind this giving. MS Amjad further added that time volunteerism is not a common practice among Pakistanis as only about 14 percent of the respondents reported having volunteered time in a year.
Considering the fact that Pakistan is a developing country with a substantial proportion of population living below poverty, it is encouraging to note that charitable giving is a common phenomenon, Dr Ashfaque H. Khan stated. In this context, the survey has revealed that despite Covid-19 pandemic, people even from poor socio-economic background give charity in one form or the other.
Dr Attiya Inayatullah giving her closing remarks highlighted that PGI not only identifies the giving practices but also the giving attitude of people as it is important to understand why people donate. She further appreciated the significant efforts of PCP to promote philanthropic knowledge by introducing philanthropy as a subject in SZABIST University Islamabad which is now planned to expand to public universities.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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