The urge to stay fit would appear to be stronger than the impulse to give to charity, according to a year-long survey of just under 20,000 donors.

More than a third of donors to the JustGiving website reported that they were considering cutting down on the amount they gave to charity, compared to 24 per cent who had entertained the idea of reducing their spend on gym membership. Philanthropy ranked as more critical to spending habits, however, than eating out or going on holidays, both of activities JustGiving donors appeared relatively willing to cut back on (73 per cent and 54 per cent respectively).

But the results of the survey were far from pessimistic. The vast majority of donors, surveyed after making a donation to the sponsorship site between January 2009 and February this year, had planned to either maintain or increase their giving levels. Less than one in fifty donors said they plan to stop their giving altogether.

More positive news came on the donation value front, the site reports that the average donation value increased over the course of the 13 months of the survey.

Jonathan Waddingham, digital strategist at JustGiving, said that the results were “encouraging”. “Anecdotal feedback tells us that that who still had money to give felt a responsibility to make up for any shortfall charities are feeling in the downturn,” he said.