More than a million extra people donated to charity in the last financial year, but even so the total value of donations made by the British public remained flat at £11bn.
The UK Giving 2011 report, released this morning, found that the level of giving in 2010/2011 was the same as that of the previous year and down £900m in real terms on the pre-recession high of 2007/2008.
Despite low consumer confidence throughout the period, the proportion of British adults giving reached previous highs of 58 per cent from a low of 54 per cent in 2008/2009. In any given month over the past year an average of 29.5 million people donated to charity in the UK. This represented a 1.1 million increase on 2009/2010 levels, but given that the average amount given per month slipped from £12 to £11 year on year, this increase in the number of givers did not push the needle on the total amount donated by individuals.
Medical research retains its stranglehold as the public’s favourite causal area to which to donate, with 38 per cent of donors giving to these charities. The next most popular cause was hospitals, attracting donations from more than one in four donors. General ‘health’ charities received donations from 7 per cent of donors.
The arts, sports and the environment were the three least well-supported charities in terms of donor volume, with the arts attracting gifts from just 1 per cent of the donors in the sample of 3,000 adults surveyed by NCVO and the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) for the annual UK Giving report.
John Low, chief executive of CAF, said that this year’s survey was encouraging, but also demonstrated that the government’s initiatives to increase giving have not had much impact.
“The government’s focus on giving is welcome, yet this report shows that donation levels remain stubbornly flat. If we are to create a stronger culture of giving in the UK, this will require continued commitment and investment by both the government and charities,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, said: “These figures also highlight that charities will have to work extra hard to attract donors and keep pace with inflation at a time of economic challenges and increased demand for their services.
“The ‘quality of the ask’ remains essential - the sector needs to build links between donors and causes and send out a strong message that all giving makes a difference.”
