September 20, 2001 | Read Time: 1 minute
Donors in Britain last year gave $8.4-billion to charity, as much as they gave in 1993, before
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contributions slackened off in the mid-1990’s, according to a new report.
But the percentage of Britons giving to charity is still just 67.5 percent, compared with 81 percent in 1993. That suggests that charities are operating from a narrower base of donors, albeit more generous ones, than they did six years earlier.
“It is very encouraging to see such a recovery in the total amount donated to charity,” said Stuart Etherington, chief executive of Britain’s National Council for Voluntary Organizations, which conducted the study. But he added: “We must work harder to encourage a return to the very high levels of public participation in charitable giving which Britain enjoyed in the early ‘90s.”
Other findings:
- The average monthly donation by Britons was about $15 last year, compared with about $12 in 1997 but nearly $15 in 1995.
- Charities that support medical research and young people were the most popular among donors, each attracting support from more than 20 percent of the population.
Copies of the study are available online at http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/main/about/info/pdfs/
resquart13.pdf or from the National Council of Voluntary Organizations, Regents Wharf, 8 All Saints Street, London, N1 9RL, United Kingdom.
Percentage of People Who Donate
What Causes the British Support
| Causes | Percentage of donors | Percent given |
| Medical research | 21.9% | 15.9% |
| Children or young people | 20.9% | 16.1% |
| Religious organizations | 11.6% | 14.4% |
| Health care | 10.9% | 7.5% |
| Animals | 9.2% | 5.9% |
| Overseas relief | 8.9% | 8.9% |
| Disabled people | 6.3% | 4.1% |
| Blind people | 6.0% | 3.7% |
| Elderly people | 5.7% | 3.6% |
| Rescue services | 5.7% | 3.7% |
| Homeless people | 5.5% | 4.4% |
| Education | 3.1% | 3.1% |
| Deaf people | 1.8% | 1.0% |
| Environment | 1.7% | 1.6% |
| Museums, music, and art | 1.0% | 0.9% |
| Heritage | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| Other | 3.9% | 4.2% |
| SOURCE: National Council for Voluntary Organizations | ||
| Chronicle chart by Sondra Haskins | ||
