The average monthly donation to charity rose by 4 per cent in 2002 to 12.93, leading to a record 7.3 billion of donations. Women gave on average over 1 more a month than men, despite generally earning less. But almost one third of the population still gave nothing to charity.
Source: Charitable Giving in 2002, Charities Aid Foundation (01732 520000) and National Council for Voluntary Organisations (0800 279 8798)
Links: NCVO press release | Briefing note
Date: 2003-Aug
A survey explored people's motives for giving to charity. More than 1 in 10 (11 per cent) of those surveyed said they gave to charity just to avoid looking mean in front of other people. Two of the most popular ways of giving were through collection boxes in pubs, and charity shops. Just under a third (32 per cent) supported charities by volunteering. Nearly one in four (24 per cent) were moved to donate after watching special television appeals.
Source: Press release 27.08.03, British Heart Foundation (020 7935 0185)
Links: BHF press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Aug
Payroll giving to charities raised 86 million in 2002-03, up by almost a fifth on the previous year. The government said the increase showed that measures introduced in 2000 to boost payroll giving (by removing the upper limit on donations and adding a 10 per cent supplement to donated money) were working. But the average number of donors each quarter in 2002-03 was 510,000, only a slight increase on the 490,000 average figure for 2001-02 and 2000-01.
Source: Press release 30.6.03, Inland Revenue (020 7438 6420)
Links: Inland Revenue press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jun
A survey report said that people took such a random approach to donating to charity that a third flung money into fountains, despite having no idea where the money was going. Spontaneous donations accounted for around 80 per cent of all charitable transactions by individuals, but generated just 3.2 per cent of the money raised by charities. The report called for charities to modernise their fundraising techniques.
Source: Beth Egan, Making a Bigger Splash: Moving from spare change to planned charitable giving, Social Market Foundation (020 7222 7060)
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2003-Feb
Tax-effective donations to charity through 'Gift Aid' and covenants totaled 2 billion in 2001-02. Giving through these methods grew by 13 per cent between 1999-2000 and 2001-02 (although it fell in 2000-01).
Source: Catherine Walker, Gift Aid in the New Millennium, Charities Aid Foundation (01732 520125)
Links: Report (Word file) | CAF press release
Date: 2003-Feb