People with previous fundraising experience or a personal connection to a charitable cause are significantly more likely to consider donating to Cancer Research UK ahead of this weekend’s Race for Life events, according to new YouGov data.

Analysis from YouGov’s CharityIndex found consideration of donating £1 to Cancer Research UK reached 58.5% among people who have previously represented a charity in a sponsored event. A similarly high level of donation consideration was recorded among those who say they give because of a personal connection to a cause.

The findings come as Cancer Research UK prepares to welcome thousands of participants to Race for Life events taking place across the UK this weekend.

The data also shows that advertising awareness for Cancer Research UK is substantially higher among these engaged audiences than among the general public.

As of 16 June, Ad Awareness stood at 58.5% among those who had represented a charity in a sponsored event and 58.2% among those motivated to donate through a personal connection to a cause.

By comparison, Ad Awareness among all UK adults remained relatively stable throughout the period, fluctuating between 18.3% and 21.0%.

Among the wider public, consideration of donating £1 fell from 47.3% at the beginning of May to 43.0% on 1 June, before recovering in the lead-up to Race for Life weekend to reach 45.2% by 16 June.

Interestingly, people who have been personally affected by cancer did not show the same elevated levels of awareness or donation intent. Ad Awareness within this group peaked at 20.5% in late May before declining to 16.2% by 16 June, below the national average.

Meanwhile, donation consideration among those personally affected by cancer stood at 45.6% on 16 June, broadly in line with the national average.

The findings suggest that previous fundraising participation and broader charitable engagement may be stronger drivers of awareness and donation intent than direct experience of the disease itself.

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