Most of the 100 largest family foundations increased their giving to charity last year, providing a vital lifeline to many charities facing cuts elsewhere.

The fifth annual Family Foundation Giving Trends report, which will be officially launched this evening, has found that giving by these large family foundations had dropped slightly by 1.8 per cent to £1.33bn. If the distorting might of the Wellcome Trust is removed, however, giving by the remaining 99 largest family foundations actually rose by 6.2 per cent.

But 2013 might not be so resilient. With investment income under pressure and problems of the wider economy, the majority of these family foundations expect to reduce their giving next year. This compounds the squeeze on voluntary income suggested in the controversial UK Giving Report released in November which suggested giving from individuals had suffered a year on year drop of 20 per cent.

Many of the foundations said that government cuts to social welfare had the biggest impact on their spending – and 74 of the top 100 family foundations donated to such causes – however, social welfare as a whole ranked fourth in terms of investment from family foundations. Again, the Wellcome Trust’s impact effected the results here; health and bio-medical causes and research, funded to the tune of nearly £600m by Wellcome, came out as the most heavily patronised causal area. Without Wellcome, the health sector came in second to education, followed by arts and culture, in terms of income from top family foundations.

With many foundations across the board having maintained or increased giving throughout the economic downturn, it is not surprising that the majority are opposed to government plans to enforce a minimum annual payout. Two-thirds of the top family foundations told the report authors, Pears Foundation and ESRC Centre for Charitable Giving, that they did not feel such rules would be beneficial.