New data shows philanthropy in the UK is struggling to recover

Top earners in the UK continue to give but donations have remained relatively small since Covid.

Think tank PBE – formerly Pro-Bono Economics – said that although organisations have faced a dual crisis post-pandemic with growing demand and falling income, just two in five of top earners donated to charity between 2021 and 2022.

These donations averaged £623 per year.

High earners did give more during Covid - however, they started from an already low base, the research found.

With the end of in-person fundraising events, combined with widespread fear about income and job security, many charities saw a fall in their public donations during the lockdown period.

Between 2020 and 2022, the number of people across the country donating to charity continued a long-term trend of decline. Fewer people were giving and the pandemic led to a decline in the overall value of donations from the public: overall giving from the public fell from £30.5 billion in 2017/18 to £26.2bn in 2021/22.

At the same time, many charities found themselves managing growing demand for their support and services, as a result of the pandemic and associated  lockdowns and social restrictions. 

In response around two in five of the top 1% of earners in UK earners (those earning a minimum of around £199,000) made charitable donation which they declared in their tax return to claim the Gift Aid rebate.

This is a small (two percentage point) increase in the number declaring donations on their tax return in 2017-18. 

Last Sunday, a letter published in the national press saw 133 leading philanthropists call for more government action to make charitable giving easier – including changes to Gift Aid.

They wrote: “With the greatest wealth transfer in history underway as fortunes pass to younger generations, we have a unique opportunity to embed a culture of significant giving among emerging philanthropists. government should make more use of matched funding schemes as well as simplifying the Gift Aid process.

“The wealth management sector should better equip advisers to discuss philanthropy with clients, and we should explore other innovative solutions such as introducing optional donations from lottery winners.”