Mayotte, Restos du Coeur, Notre-Dame… “The French have been very generous,” notes the Fondation de France

Des dons d'argent, mais pas uniquement. Midi Libre – MICHAEL ESDOURRUBAILH

Plus de 9 milliards d’euros ont été donnés en 2022, selon un bilan consolidé établi en novembre 2023. Toutes les générations se sentent concernées, et la générosité prend de nouvelles formes, au-delà de la collecte traditionnelle.

“Only four days left to donate. There's still time to act!” On Thursday, December 26, the Saint-Pierre Foundation, attached to the Saint-Pierre Institute, a children's hospital in Palavas-les-Flots, is calling out potential donors one last time.

Their generosity (rewarded by tax deductions within a framework that varies depending on the donor's profile, the amount of donations, etc.) is essential to the functioning of the establishment, as it is now necessary for the Restos du Coeur, the Téléthon, and the reconstruction of Mayotte after the passage of Cyclone Chido, and yesterday for the rehabilitation of Notre-Dame-de-Paris.

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“Of course tax exemption plays a role”, notes Alain Capillon, former head of the Restos du Coeur Hérault, fifteen months after the national president launched an SOS to replenish funds that were insufficient to meet demand. Since then, the accounts have returned to the green. “We had a fairly substantial increase in donations for the last campaign”, notes the volunteer, who reports a “increase of + 30% for individuals and municipalities”, which allows us to “better help beneficiaries” : “We will exceed 4 million meals served in Hérault”, indicates Alain Capillon.

Beyond that, the whole of 2024 shows a good balance sheet: “The French have been very generous”, indicates the Fondation de France (FDF), which recalls the result of the study carried out by France générosités (professional union of associations and foundations appealing to the generosity of the public, more than 150 general interest organizations), in collaboration with the Philanthropy & Société de la Fondation de France: they gave 9.2 billion euros in 2022, +8% compared to 2019.

“When an entire island is in need, who do you give to?”

Furthermore, “this generosity is renewed”, and takes various and creative forms: volunteering, in-kind donations, crowdfunding, online charity events that reach new donors, such as ZEVENT, the video game marathon, which raised more than 10 million euros for five associations fighting against poverty, last September, at the initiative of Montpellier resident Adrien Nougaret, aka Zerator.

As for “on-board generosity”, these micro-donations in the form of rounding up at the till or from one's salary at the end of the month, “it has doubled compared to 2018”, and now brings in “7.4 million euros”, figures the FDF, which further highlights the commitment of the youngest: according to an Ifop study last November, 63% of 18-25 year-olds “regularly make direct donations” of money, food, clothing, to people, one in two has already volunteered, and one in two regularly gives to an association.

With varying fortunes: “When you have an entire island in need, who do you give to? People don’t know”, notes Noussoura Anli from Nîmes, who started a campaign to appeal for donations for the victims of Mayotte on December 17, via her association, A.S.C- Jeunes Nîmois: “Hygiene products, clothes, school supplies, no money”. The collection is starting slowly, and will be sent in the spring by container, via an association relay.

“I am concerned because I have family there, my father, my brothers and sisters, we do what we can”, says the student. “Teveryone knows that there was a cyclone”, but the 100 m2 premises, made available in the Zup Sud of Nîmes, are slowly filling up.