The Charities Aid Foundation has found 1.5 million people who donated last week are likely to support charity in the future

Millions of Brits are set to continue supporting charities on the back of a major giving event.

The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) – which oversees Giving Tuesday in the UK – has just released data that reveals 26% of British people who have heard of the event are likely to do something for charity in the future as a result of the movement - equivalent to almost 1.5 million people.

CAF’s research, conducted by YouGov, also reveals that between late October and late November 2018, 57% of respondents donated money to charity.

Giving Tuesday took place last week (27 November) and was a huge success, with the #GivingTuesday hashtag reached over 41 million people on social media in the UK alone.

There was big name celebrity endorsement for many charities from the likes of Cara Delevingne, Sir Richard Branson and pop singer Dua Lipa.

Elsewhere the Tiny Tickers Charity, which was aiming to raise £725 to fund one pulse oximetry machine, ended up raising £3,085. This ensured that it can now invest in four new machines that will allow 6,000 newborns to be tested every year for heart defects.

Whilst it’s too early to get a full financial picture of how much money was raised in total in the UK, early indications from fundraising platform Virgin Money Giving suggest that fewer people gave compared with #GivingTuesday 2017. Crucially though, those that did donate gave more on average than last year, which is in line with trends seen in CAF’s UK Giving report. The Big Give also launched its annual Christmas Challenge for #GivingTuesday and raised £4.5 million for charities this year, compared to £4.3 million in 2017.

Ben Russell, director of communications at CAF, said: “This year’s Giving Tuesday has built on its strong tradition of promoting the world of difference that charities make to people’s lives.

“As important as raising money is, Giving Tuesday is about so much more than that. It’s an opportunity to raise awareness, say thank you and encourage people to give their time, talk to friends about causes and do something for neighbours and friends. I’d like to express our gratitude to everyone who joined in the spirit of giving last week.”