Donations hold up despite recession
Updated on 09 November 2009
The number of donations of at least £1 million made to charity has fallen only slightly despite the impact of the credit crunch, research showed.
The report found that 102 donors, including individuals and charitable foundations, made seven-figure donations to good causes during 2007/2008, down only slightly from 106 donors during the previous 12 months.
There was a slightly steeper fall in the amount that was donated, with this dropping from £1.62 billion to £1.41 billion during the same period, according to private bank Coutts & Co.
The average value of a donation also fell to £7.4 million, compared with £8.4 million in 2006/2007.
But the group said once very large and small donations were stripped out, the average amount given remained broadly unchanged at £1.9 million, compared with £2 million during the previous year.
The report, which was carried out with the Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent, found that 51% of £1 million-plus donations were made by individuals, with 38% coming from professional foundations and 11% from corporations.
The most popular causes supported by big donations were higher education, the arts and culture and international aid and development.
By contrast people making smaller donations tend to favour medical research, children's charities and overseas aid.
The research also found that more £1 million donations are being given directly to charities to spend on activities compared with the previous year, when the money was more likely to have been paid into charitable foundations to be distributed at a later date.
Author of the report Beth Breeze said: "Not only does this report demonstrate that UK philanthropy is far more resilient than many people have suggested, it is heartening to see that major philanthropists have reacted to the economic crisis by ensuring that more funds are being spent on front-line charitable activity rather than being put away in charitable foundations to be spent at some point in the future."
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