Fewer people are giving to charity and those that do are giving less, resulting in a £2.3bn real terms fall in total donations in the last year, according to the latest barometer of individual philanthropy in the UK.
The UK Giving Report, released today, has reported a 20 per cent fall in the amount of money donated to charity between 2010/11 and 2011/12 to £9.3bn – a cash fall of £1.7bn (before inflation). It is the first time the total level of donations fell below £10bn since 2004/05.
The report shows two factors colliding to result in the massive drop: a decline in the proportion of the adult population giving (from 58 per cent to 55 per cent) and a reduction in the amount those who still give are able to donate (down to £10 from £11). Apart from a dip in 2008/09 – the harshest year of the recession – the proportion of the UK population giving to charity has not dipped below 56 per cent.
Proof of this dive in individual giving, on the back of years of charities separately and anecdotally reporting the same, has prompted the report’s authors Charities Aid Foundation and NCVO to launch a campaign, ‘Back Britain’s Charities’.
CAF chief executive John Low said that the fall in income, combined with cutbacks in government spending, is “deeply worrying”.
“We hope the fall in giving shown in our survey is a temporary decline and not the start of a damaging trend,” he said.
NCVO’s chief, Sir Stuart Etherington, echoed Low’s concern. “I am very worried that fewer people are giving to charity,” he said. He warned that this drop could be particularly harsh for charities without secure reserves to dip into.
Institute says many charities seeing an increase in income
The Institute of Fundraising, however, says the report needs more close scrutiny.
Peter Lewis said that the report of such a dramatic fall in income does not reflect the experiences of many of its members, nor of the small charities it has been training as part of its Office of Civil Society grant. The Institute chief executive said that the fall was definitely not felt across the board.
“Charities who have spoken to us say that they have had an increase or giving has been at worst flat,” he said.
“This may well show the value and importance of actively fundraising as charities who have continued to invest may not have felt this impact…Charities need to look at their own data and monitor their own performance.”
Lewis said the organisation is keen to see the data from the Civil Society Almanac, also produced by the NCVO, which is based on Charity Commission returns “not just what [donors] said they did”. The UK Giving report is an annual study of individual philanthropy, and is based on a survey of more than 3,000 people by the Office of National Statistics.
In a blog post titled 'Why I think we are right... but hope we are wrong' responding to doubts on the research, NCVO head of policy and campaigns Karl Wilding said that the research has been conducted robustly and over several years; Wilding said that even if the figures were disputed the fact that the methodology has remained constant over the years indicates that there is a trend afoot.
New campaign
As part of the new campaign, CAF and NCVO are encouraging people to donate through regular giving. The UK Giving report shows a 6 per cent increase in the number of people giving via direct debit – now accounting for nearly a third of all donations – so as to ensure stable income. The pair of umbrella bodies are repeating other well-worn campaigning points as part of ‘Back Britain’s Charities’, including the reform and promotion of gift aid and payroll giving, an increase in corporate philanthropy and the improvement of fundraising techniques.
While uncertain of the report itself, the Institute of Fundraising has endorsed the campaign, with Lewis saying the report demonstrated the importance of efficient fundraising. “Campaigns like this are important to help raise awareness, and hopefully more money, for causes across the UK.”
