There has been no spike in donors cancelling Direct Debits to charities, despite the media and government outcry over the death of Olive Cooke, according to figures released this week.

The statistics, released by Direct Debit service Rapidata, show that donation cancellations in the second quarter of 2015 remained “steady”, with April showing 2.86 per cent, May 2.72 per cent and June 2.81 per cent.

While these figures are slightly up on the second quarter of 2014, Rapidata suggest that the figures are still “a gem of positive news” for fundraising charities, particularly in the wake of the much publicised death of Olive Cooke in May.

Scott Gray, managing director of Rapidata, said that despite the hugely negative coverage of fundraising in the last six weeks, the statistics still show that regular giving donation cancellations haven’t spiked to anywhere near recession levels. In contrast, he said, 2008/09 had a cancellation rate of 4.09 per cent.

“Regular giving appears to be in positive shape with those people who are already committed to a cause continuing to support their chosen charities," he said. "Recent media angles may have incited a degree of unrest and concern but our figures are encouraging and I believe British charities remain close to the hearts of the public at this time.

“However, whilst I see this as good news, there is anecdotal evidence that some fundraising campaigns are being delayed and others could experience reduced response rates.

"Whilst this does not impact cancellation rates in existing regular giving programmes, it could have an impact on the numbers of new regular donors being recruited, and the planned budgets and RoI for campaigns. We will continue to closely monitor cancellation rates over the coming months for signs of change.”