Donations to charities fall by 20 percent

Donations to charity fell by 20% in real terms during 2011/12, with the public gave £1.7billion less to charity than the previous year, according to the longest-running annual study of giving across the United Kingdom.

The number of people giving to charity has declined and the amounts they gave also fell, according to the new report, compiled by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). CAF and NCVO have now launched a campaign to Back Britain’s Charities, aimed at ensuring that the vital work of charities is not damaged by this worrying fall in giving.

The report, based on a survey of more than 3,000 people by the Office for National Statistics, found the total amount given to charities by people across the UK fell from £11billion to £9.3billionn during 2011/12, a cash fall of £1.7billionn, and the largest in the survey’s eight year history. Adjusted for inflation, this fall in donations represents £2.3billion.

The average amount people gave each month fell from £11 to £10 last year and was down from an average of £12 a month in 2009/10. Other key findings included:

• The proportion of people donating to charitable causes in a typical month fell from 58% to 55% in the past year.
• 28.4 million people gave to charity, more than half of all UK adults.
• Medical research, hospitals and hospices, and children and young people are the most popular causes among donors, but religious causes received the largest average donations.
• Women continue to be more likely to give to charity than men, with 58% of women giving to charity in a typical month compared with 52% of men.
• Cash is the most common form of giving (over 50%) in 2011/2012. Direct debit accounts for 31% of the total amount donated, an increase of 6% from 2010/2011.

Through the Back Britain’s Charities campaign, CAF and NCVO are calling for:

• People to support charities through regular giving, regardless of how much time or money can give.
• The Government to modernise and promote Gift Aid and payroll giving so donations go further.
• The Government to ensure that public bodies do not cut funding for charities disproportionately when making spending reductions.
• Business to support charities either through donations, or through practical means.
• Charities to work together with the Government to modernise and improve fundraising and enhance their impact, so that every pound given goes further towards helping beneficiaries.

For further information and to download the report visit www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/news/funding/donations-charity-fall-20-cent-fewer-people-give-new-report.