Posted on 11th November 2011
Some of the UK’s biggest charities are managing to grow their voluntary income despite the economic climate, the latest figures from Charity Finance’s Charity 100 Index show.
Three charities performed outstandingly well. The British Red Cross increased donations by 59%, Unicef by 41% and Save the Children by 33%. Save the Children recruited 32,000 regular donors during the year busting its target by £88.8m.
Research analyst Diane Sim says: “Charities are expecting government cuts to bite very soon and some of the larger charities have anticipated this by looking to other forms of income and putting their effort into raising money from donations. This analysis shows that some are doing extremely well.”
However, Sim warns that over the longer term voluntary income is still down for the top 100 charities. “Voluntary income for the top 100 charities fell off sharply in the last quarter of 2008 and while there are signs of improvement, it still has some way to go before it is back on track."
The analysis is based on charities’ annual accounts, recently filed with the Charity Commission. Two-thirds of the 18 charities whose financial year ended on 31 December reported income rises of up to 31%. The other third either remained static or saw falls of no more than 11%.
The Charity 100 Index is updated on a quarterly basis. Each charity’s total income is divided into five main streams – legacies, voluntary, grants and fees, investment and trading. Total income and each of the five streams are tracked year-on-year to reveal growth patterns for total income and for each individual stream.
Meanwhile, research by PayYOURway.org.uk, the education campaign for payments, says that nine out of ten British people are donating to charity. The average donation level is £100 a year. Just over half (57%) of those surveyed were aware that Gift Aid allows charities to reclaim basic rate tax on donations. However, fewer than one in five (18%) say they always add Gift Aid to their donations. Charities Aid Foundation research estimates that good causes are missing out on £700m of Gift Aid each year. To help improve uptake of Gift Aid, Pay Your Way has launched an online guide to help people choose the best way to donate to charity.
