Wealthy donors "matter the most"
UK charitable giving drops by £1.3bn
Donations made to UK charities have dropped 11% over the past year, or £1.3bn, according to new research, although wealthy donors continue to generate almost half the total given to charity.
Donors are giving less, but are still giving, according to UK Giving 2009, published today by the Charities Aid Foundation and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
The report said that higher-level donors still "matter the most". It said: "The work of many charities is clearly reliant on these higher-level donors. Conversely, most donors gave much smaller amounts: 11.3 million people, 42% of donors, gave under £10 in a typical month. Whilst this is a significant number of donors, these donations comprise only 5% of the total amount given."
The survey of 3,316 UK adults, carried out in June and October 2008 and February 2009 shows that the median amount donated per month was £10 per person in 2008/09, a decrease of £1 on the previous year.
Whilst the economic downturn has affected the total amount given there has only been a 2% fall in the number of adults in the UK who donate to a charity each month, to 54%. This equates to 774,000 fewer people giving.
CAF chief executive John Low said, “Even though there are welcome signs the recession is technically ending, the economic downturn is still severely impacting charities, many of whom have had to cut jobs while facing increased demand for their services."
Stuart Etherington, CEO, NCVO said: “Inevitably the recession is having an effect on charities, and on the levels of giving. But it would be wrong to predict the collapse of the sector because of the current climate. .”
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