Can royal patronage boost charities' income?

Members of the British royal family have a long history of being patrons, dating back around 900 years, according to the University of Liverpool.

 

The late Queen for example had more than 600 patronages. In total the royal family are patrons of more than 3,000 organisations, including charities.

 

This does not mean they donate to the charities they support. Instead, they typically give up their time for free and are figureheads for the charity with no formal power over it.

 

Patronages are often chosen by a member of the royal family as they may have a close personal connection to a good cause. For example, the Queen Consort is president of the National Osteoporosis Society, as her mother and grandmother died from the bone disease. 

 

Evidence has emerged that the public is increasingly keen to see royal family members support charities as patrons.

 

We explore this research and further evidence to suggest that royal involvement may not necessarily bring an increase in donations and support that charities hope for.

 

 

Public support for royal patronage 

 

Support among the public for royal patronage of charities is up for almost all members of the royal family, according to research published by consultancy nfpResearch in 2023.

 

The public are also quite specific that they want to see royal family members link up with charities officially as patrons, rather than just as supporters.  When researchers asked the public what Royal family members’ most important role should be to support good causes, the biggest response (43%) was patronage.

 

The most popular royal for charities to target as a patron is Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales. More than four in ten (42%) say they are more likely to support a charity if it had her patronage.

 

The princess is a patron of more than 20 charities and military organisations, including Action for Children and Sports Aid.

Compared to five years ago, the public are more likely to support a charity with patronage from almost all royals, also including Prince William, Princess Anne, and King Charles.

 

However, not all royal family members enjoy such backing from the public. Over the last five years, support for Prince Harry’s involvement in charities has dropped. While 28% of the public would have been more likely to support a charity with his patronage five years ago, this proportion fell to 25% in December 2022.

The most toxic royal for a charity to be associated with is Prince Andrew, due to his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In recent years his involvement with the late Epstein saw the royal step back from all 60 of his charity patronages.

Royal patronage of charities is especially popular among men, found nfpResearch.

 

Men aged between 25 to 34 are the most likely to be influenced by the patronage of King Charles, Kate Middleton, Prince William, and the Queen Consort. Meanwhile, Princess Anne is the most popular royal family member to be involved with charities among the 65+ age group.

"Celebrity endorsements are a fantastic tool for charities, but the public needs to believe in the commitment of the public figure to the cause at hand,” says nfpResearch Managing Director Tim Harrison-Byrne.

“This is especially true for royal support. Charities need to carefully consider who endorses them and to ensure that the values of their patrons align with their mission."

 

 

Can royal patrons increase donations?

 

But while the public indicates they would give more to a charity with patronage from their favourite royals, research released in 2020 was sceptical that these regal backers can bring a tangible income boost to good causes.

 

This research, published by Giving Evidence found that many royal patrons barely get involved in good causes, such as attending events. It found that 74% of charities with Royal patrons did not manage to get any public engagements with them between 2019 and 2020.

 

At the time of this research, the late Queen was the patron of the most single-patronage charities, followed by Prince Charles, and then Princess Anne.

 

“We could not find any evidence that Royal patrons increase a charity’s revenue,” added Giving Evidence, which questions whether royal involvement can actually boost generosity among supporters or help generate vital income when needed.

 

For example, in 2020 the charity Animal Health Trust was formally wound up after failing to attract long term funding, despite Princess Anne being the charity’s president.

Giving Evidence’s research adds: “Charities often seem to think that a royal patron will visit them or enable events at palaces which they can use to attract press coverage or donors. In fact, most UK charities with royal patrons did not get a single public engagement with their Royal patron last year.”

 

Here is an introduction by Giving Evidence of their Royal patronage of charities analysis: