UK philanthropy in good health

Recent research suggests the fall in the total value of UK charitable donations worth £1m or more was found to be 13%, and the fall in the number of donors making commitments at this level fell by just 6%. Not bad considering one of the worst recessions in living memory….

The research goes onto highlight that:

“More `million pound donations` are being given directly to charities to spend on activities. In a reversal from 2006/07 – the first year this research was undertaken – the larger part of donations of this size have been given direct to front-line charities rather than `banked` in charitable foundations for distribution at a later date. As a consequence, the amount of money that `million pound donors` have made available for spending directly on charitable recipients has actually increased by over £100 million, from £705m in 2006/07 to £808m in 2007/08.”

Beth Breeze, author of the report commented:

`Despite the understandable tendency to focus on questions of `how much` is given during a recession, the analysis presented in this report emphasises that it is also important to explore `how` philanthropy has changed during the economic crisis, for example, making large donations in instalments and an increase in anonymous and low profile giving.`

The Coutts Million Pound Donors Report, from Coutts & Co, in association with the Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent, is the second annual analysis of charitable donations worth £1m or more.