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The charity sector in the UK

Charity sector in the UK

CAF estimate charitable giving in the UK in 2009/10 by individuals to be £12.6 billion with over 56% of adults donating to charitable causes (Charities Aid Foundation, 2010). This was broken down in giving per donor per month as £12 as the median and £31 as the mean, this shows that high-level donors have a large impact on total giving as evidenced by the skewness, which is “the tendency of deviations from the mean to be larger in one direction than the other” (Malhotra, 2010: 488).
The recession has had an impact on charitable giving, 2008/9 saw a drop of 11% in total donations compared to 2007/8 as well as a drop in household donations to 54% (NCVO, 2009), and this shows that although most people are still giving; everyone is giving slightly less. However, a clear rise in giving can be seen, in 2009/10 56% of households donated to charity, the same % as the pre-recession levels in 2007/8 (Charities Aid Foundation, 2008). The total amount given in 2008 and 2010 was also the same estimated figure of £12.6 billion, however, due to inflation and the UK’s rising population this actually means total donation amount has not yet proportionally reached pre-recession levels, though will likely do so within two years (Charities Aid Foundation, 2008), (NCVO, 2009) & (Charities Aid Foundation, 2010).

The Charity Commission had 180,909 registered charities in 2010, which includes organizations with charity status; such as universities, who have a total income of £52 billion, however 54% of the sector’s income is generated by 833 of the largest charities. 78% of organizations receive no Government funding and individual contributions are their most important funding streams. The distribution of donations to charitable causes remained similar to previous years with the exception of overseas causes which saw 24% of donators supporting them, compared to 15% in previous years (Philanthropy UK, n.d.). This rise can be attributed to the earthquake in Haiti and the floods in Pakistan which may have prompted more overseas donations.

Top charities

The top ten charities measured by brand value are Cancer research UK, The National trust, Oxfam, The Salvation Army, The British Red Cross Society, Wellcome Trust, RSPCA, Barnado’s, The Arts Council English, The British Heart Foundation (Guardian, 2007). This list can be grouped into three medical/health charities; four humanitarian, including two which operate overseas; one animal charity; two arts/heritage charity.

NB. Brand value is based on ability to generate future income based on the size of its membership base, commercial licensing deals and public awareness (Guardian, 2007).

Employment statistics 

The charity sector in the UK employed 1.6 million in April 2008, 6% of the overall workforce in the UK though this number is projected to decline by 2010 due to Government funding cuts to charities (NCVO, 2010).

Giving methods

Methods of donation to charity include legacies, usually a % of the estate of a person when they die; give as you earn taken straight from salary; charity gift vouchers bought for others as gifts instead of presents; sponsorship by businesses, mainly for events to increase the business’ awareness; donations business donations tend to be towards causes and are designed to show a company is a good corporate citizen and to improve its image with stakeholders (Mintel, 2006); sponsorship and donations are also given by individuals, usually for events.
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