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Charitable giving by individuals in the UK was £8.9bn in 2005/2006, the same amount as in 2004/2005, but up £0.5bn from 2003/2004 (UK Giving 2005/06). However, according to figures from CAF’s Charity Trends 2007, tax-efficient giving through the Gift Aid scheme added a further £750m, a 16.9% real terms growth on the previous year.
The UK Giving survey, undertaken by CAF and NCVO ,and available on both CAF and NCVO websites free of charge (see below), finds that 57.6% of the UK adult population – 28m people – give at least once a month. This is an average of £15 per month for each UK adult.
Medical research attracts more donors than any other cause and is supported by 40% of donors. The other most popular causes are those aimed at young people and hospitals and hospices, which attracted 25% and 24% of donors respectively.
Although Gift Aid income is up, UK Giving finds that only 57% of high-level donors (giving £100 or more in the reference month) used Gift Aid, as opposed to 68% in 2003/2004. 34% of donors use Gift Aid for at least one donation.
Some clear trends continue. For example, individual giving represents a progressively bigger proportion of income for larger organisations. For those with incomes over £10m, individuals provide almost half (46.4%) of receipts, compared with under a quarter (22.3%) for those organisations between £100,000 and £1m in size. According to CAF, this reflects the ability of larger organisations to use their brand status to attract donations from individuals.
However, the smallest charities with income under £10,000 reverse this trend, receiving one-third (33.6%) of their income from individuals, perhaps as a result of local support for their causes.
Corporate giving
CAF's Top 500 corporate donors gave over £1.1bn in 2005/06, according to Charity Trends 2007, up 3.6% in real terms on the previous year. Despite this growth, the actual number of companies giving 1% or more of their pre-tax profit to charity fell (from 57 to 47) and the number of companies donating over £1m also dropped (from 66 to 61). The banking sector continues to dominate the list of corporate givers; indeed, five of the top 10 donors are banking institutions.
Grant-making trusts
CAF reports that the value of grants distributed by the Top 500 grant-making trusts in 2005/06 rose to £3.3bn, up 17%, bringing the total income of the Top 500 grant-making trusts to £6.1bn – an increase of 31%. The most popular causes for grant funding remain social care (£565m) and health (£539m), with education receiving £326m.
Overall income
Charity Trends 2007 finds that the total income of the Top 500 charities increased 8.6% to £10.9bn in 2005/06. Donations and grants accounted for 38% of total income. The largest charities continue to take the lion’s share of income – the top 100 absorb two-thirds of the total income of all charities in the Top 500, as they did in 2004/05.
| UK giving, 2005/6 | UK (£bn) | USA ($bn) |
| Individuals | 8.9 | 222.9 |
| Legacies | 1.6 | 22.9 |
| Trusts and foundations | 3.3 | 36.5 |
| Companies | 1.1 | 12.7 |
| Total | 14.9 | 295.0 |
| GDP | 1,299.6 | 13, 130.0 |
| Private giving / GDP | 1.1% | 2.2% |
- UK Giving survey. Free from CAF and NCVO
- Charity Trends 2007. Cost: £164 with 50% charity discount (standard price £ 327).
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