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CAF donors more generous than ever despite downturn

Finance | Tania Mason | 8 Sep 2011

Major donors that give to charity through CAF Charitable Trusts donated more than £100m last financial year, a jump of 25 per cent on the year before.

Charities Aid Foundation’s latest annual report boasts that the increased generosity of its donors compares favourably with the donating habits of the UK’s wealthiest philanthropists, whose giving plummeted by nearly 33 per cent according to the Sunday Times Giving List.

In total, donations made by individuals and companies through CAF in the year to 30 April 2011 reached a record £378m - £12m more than the previous year.  Chief executive John Low (pictured) said: “The past year exceeded our expectations.  Given the challenging financial climate for charities it’s particularly pleasing to see such generosity.”

The accounts show that CAF paid £1.3m to NCVO, its founder, under the terms of CAF’s Declaration of Trust.  This is an annual grant, derived from a calculation based upon the amount of donations into CAF Charity Accounts and CAF Trusts, that CAF has paid to NCVO ever since it was spun off from NCVO in 1974.

The report also shows that in the 2010/11 year, CAF paid 14 members of staff salaries of £80,000 or more.  This number is unchanged since the year before, although three staff earned between £120,000 and £150,000 whereas in 2009/10 just one employee earned over £120,000.  The highest salary increased from between £120,000 and £130,000 to between £140,000 and £150,000.

The organisation employed an average of 466 staff during the year, eight less than the previous year.

In other highlights:

• The largest donation from a CAF Trust Account was £4.6m and the largest number of gifts from a single donor was 345.
• CAF’s Give As You Earn payroll giving scheme remains the market leader with a market share of 76 per cent.
• CAF Bank balances fell by £22m over the course of the year although the number of customer accounts grew from 27,000 to 28,000.
• During 2010/11 CAF Venturesome offered £2.5m in loans to 31 charities, social enterprises and community land trusts.  In the coming year it aims to support 40 charities and to raise an additional £2.5m.
• International donations grew from £55m to £68m.
• Total income for the CAF Group grew from £377m to £399m.
• Companies gave £65.5m to charities through CAF Company Accounts and fundraising accounts, an amount that "held fairly steady" on the year before.
• CAF's unrestricted reserves stood at £44.3m at the end of the 2010/11 financial year, an increase of £12.5m.  The increase includes a gain of £9.8m realised on disposal of bond and gilt investments by CAF and CAF Bank and an operating surplus of £3.3m.

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Directory: CAF Charities Aid Foundation | Charities Aid Foundation
Who's Who: John Low