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Giving increases, but still behind pre-recession levels

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 3 Dec 2010

More people gave more money to charities in the last financial year, but giving levels remain £700m below pre-recession levels.

The UK public gave £400m more in 2009/2010 than in the previous year, reaching £10.6bn, but giving has yet to reach the peak levels recorded before the markets fell, over the 2007/2008 financial year.

Participation in giving is also up marginally, with 56 per cent of people reporting they have given to charity – an increase of 2 per cent on the previous year, according to the UK Giving report released today. Incremental changes have been recorded across the typical values of gifts; the median gift has increased by £2 to £12 per month and the mean is up by £1 to £31 a month.

Higher-end giving has proven particularly resilient, with UK Giving reporting that the share of the £10.6bn total accounted for by gifts of more than £100 has increased over the past year. The authors added that more than 100 £1m-plus gifts were recorded in the previous year, 2008/2009. In response to this finding, NCVO chief Sir Stuart Etherington called on fundraisers to focus on major donors and warned that “this is no time for complacency”.

Medical research charities remain most popular

As in previous years, the most popular destination for donations in the last financial year was medical research, attracting 17 per cent of the value of all donations. One in three donors reported having given to a medical research charity during this period.

But as the UK slowly emerged from recession, public charitable investment in overseas aid has increased. A quarter of the giving public gave to overseas causes, up significantly from the 15 – 16 per cent of previous years.

Meanwhile, charities serving children and young people came in as the second-most popular donation destination, with 25 per cent of donors giving in this area. Religious causes attracted the largest average donations, receiving a median donations of around £15.

No improvement in gift aid

Uptake of gift aid has seen less growth in 2009/2010 than in previous years, remaining instead steady at around 40 per cent of all donations.

John Low, chief executive of CAF, said that this is an area that requires urgent action. “Charities and donors need to do more to tackle the estimated £750m a year of gift aid that goes unclaimed, but we also urgently need government to set up an online system for reclamation of gift aid to facilitate tax efficient digital giving.”

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Directory: Charities Aid Foundation | National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
Who's Who: John Low | Sir Stuart Etherington