The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) paid out more than £702m to charities in the year ending April 2020, marking a record for the charity financial services provider.
CAF offers a range of services where philanthropists, individuals and businesses can give donations to CAF, before they are then passed on to their desired charities. This year's giving total represents an increase of 7% over 2018-19's figure of £646m.
The money was paid out both to charities in the UK and to those in 110 countries around the world. CAF said the figures show that donors continued to give despite uncertainties around Brexit.
Many donations through CAF are paid immediately to the donor's cause of choice, while some donors use CAF accounts to grow philanthropic funds so they can make grants to charities at a later date.
Donations paid to charities from CAF Charity Accounts totalled £106m.
CAF’s Coronavirus Emergency Fund paid almost £6.5m to more than 1,250 small UK charities.
The CAF American Donor Fund for dual US-UK taxpayers made 1,376 grants totalling £82.7m, up from £80.6m the year prior.
Meanwhile, CAF Bank gave loans and advances totalling £138.7m to its charity and social enterprise customers, compared to £105.9m the previous year.
Sir John Low, Chief Executive of CAF, said: “Despite a year that ended with uncertainty such as we have never seen in our lifetimes, our community of donors, be they individuals or companies, responded with record levels of generosity.
“At CAF, we are proud to have facilitated the distribution of those vital funds to so many good causes around the world, especially as many now find themselves in such challenging straits. The numbers in this year’s annual report translate into tangible, vital support for the millions of people who rely on the work of charities.
“The months and indeed years ahead will not be easy ones for both charities and the people they support, but the willingness to give detailed in this year’s report provide a sense of hope that we will be able to recover, rebuild and thrive once again.”
Related articles
