While often barely able to afford it, households which send money back to families and communities overseas are also far more likely to donate to British charities as well, according to new research.

A survey of 63,000 households found that homes which make remittances overseas are more than a third more likely to also give to British charities than British households overall. Some 42 per cent of remitting households gave to UK charities, compared to an overall average of 29 per cent, according to the study released today by the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy at Cass Business School.

And, critically, these are gifts made often at considerable personal cost. One in ten of the remitting households were at risk of poverty, but they still gave – on average – 3.9 per cent of their household budget back to their countries of origin and, on top of that, tend to give a higher proportion of their household income to British charities.

Just one in 20 households in the UK make remittances, which are transfers of cash back to countries of origin to either families or communities. Yet, even though they are small in number, with an average remittance worth £31 per week, the World Bank estimated that last year some $23.16bn was transferred in remittances from the UK.

The proportionately most generous group where black and black British households, which are at the highest risk of poverty but also are the most likely to send money overseas and give the most (2.5 per cent of household spending) to local charities as well.

Shadow minister for international development Rushanara Ali, writing a foreword to the research, said that the culture of remittance was growing. “Shifting patterns of population mean the trend for remittance payments is on the increase as more people than ever live and work abroad and feel a sense of connection to their country of origin, while also, as this report shows, giving to meet the needs of countries were they reside.”

Prof Cathy Pharoah, who co-authored the study with fellow Cass Business School academic Tom McKenzie, said that previous studies of giving in the UK have ignored giving by minority groups and not addressed how government should intervene to harness their giving and encourage others to follow their lead.

“Norms of giving among the UK’s migrant and minority groups provide valuable models for shared community responsibility, and of direct giving to extended family and community needs,” she said.