Report finds £1.83bn was donated through 355 gifts to charitable causes or foundations
A record number of charitable donations worth £1 million or more were made in the UK last year, new figures have revealed.
In total, £1.83 billion was donated through 355 gifts to charitable causes or foundations in 2015, according to the ninth Coutts Million Pound Donors Report.
The total value of major donations increased by 17% from £1.56bn the previous year, while the number of donations jumped 19% from 298 in 2014.
Additionally, 68 first-time million-pound donors were identified in the report.
We now have enough data to talk confidently about this being a boom time for UK philanthropy
Higher education remained the main recipient of philanthropy at this level, receiving more than one-third (35%) of the total donation value.
However, an increasing number of organisations were found to have benefited from million-pound gifts. The number of distinct recipients rose by nearly 10%, while beneficiaries of multiple gifts included arts, culture and heritage organisations, health and medical charities and those supporting children and young people in the UK and overseas.
The total value was boosted by four single donations each worth £30m or more, two of which were placed in foundations for future distribution to charitable causes, while the other two were given to universities.
London was the source of the majority of million-pound gifts, although donations came from almost every region of the UK. International donors also played an important role in supporting charitable activities in the UK, with 28 donations (10% of the total value) coming from overseas.
The UK findings formed part of a wider multinational report from wealth management firm Coutts.
In total, the 2015 report tracked a total of 2,197 donations of $1m or more worldwide, worth $56bn.
Rachel Harrington, director of the Coutts Institute, commented: “The rise in donations mirrors what we’re seeing on a day-to-day basis here at Coutts in the increasing number of conversations we are having with clients and their children about their philanthropic interests.
“There’s no doubt philanthropy plays a hugely valuable and distinctive role in today’s society and in shaping the future.”
Dr Beth Breeze from the University of Kent, co-author of the UK report, added: "We now have enough data to talk confidently about this being a boom time for UK philanthropy.
“Not only are we seeing substantial increases in both the number of million-pound donations and their collective value, we are also seeing greater numbers of first-time million pound donors, and a bigger pool of charities able to attract multiple mega-donations.
“These findings suggest that efforts to build a stronger culture of philanthropy in the UK have been successful, and that we must maintain the momentum to ensure that this boom doesn’t turn to bust if – as many predict – the economic and social context becomes more difficult in the years ahead.“
A number of major philanthropists were interviewed for the report, including former F1 star Sir Jackie Stewart.
Sir Jackie founded dementia research charity Race Against Dementia after his wife, Lady Helen, was diagnosed with the illness.
Asked what advice he would give to future philanthropists, he said: “Give! Don’t just wait for your own family to be hit by something. Give as much as you can afford, as much as you can – it will help any number of people.
“Philanthropy is a very important part of all our lives and I encourage anyone to give who has even the smallest opportunity to do so.”
