Forty one per cent of people donated to charity in November, compared to annual average of 33 per cent, according to a giving survey published today.
The Charities Aid Foundation, which published its annual UK Giving Report today, said November is likely to be the most popular month for giving because a number of high-profile appeals take place that month, including the Poppy Appeal and Children in Need.
December also saw a higher percentage of people saying that they had made a donation, with 38 per cent of respondents saying that they had. CAF puts this down to Christmas appeals, Giving Tuesday and the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Yemen appeal.
The report found that £9.7bn was donated in 2016, slightly up on the previous year when it was £9.6bn.
CAF said there appears to have been a decline in regular giving.
One quarter of those surveyed said that they gave on a monthly basis, down from 31 per cent in 2015. However it said those giving on an ad-hoc basis had increased from 41 per cent to 51 per cent.
The median average donation was £18 and cash is still the most common way to give with, 58 per cent of people donating in this way. 26 per cent donated using online channels.
Unaffected by Brexit
According to CAF, Brexit does not appear to have affected giving trends.
John Low, chief executive of CAF, said: “While huge change was taking place all around us last year, one thing which remained consistent was the reliable and enduring generosity of people in the UK in their support of good causes.
“The consequences and impact of the EU referendum result are likely to become increasingly apparent over the months and years ahead.
“Our research shows that there has been no Brexit-effect on charitable donations so far, but there has been a noticeable increase in people engaging in social and political issues. Numbers of people who said they signed a petition or took part in a protest or demonstration last year are the highest recorded in more than a decade of us producing this report.
Other types of civic engagement
In 2016 17 per cent of people said they volunteered over the year, 4 per cent than the previous year, with full-time students most likely to do so.
The report highlights a “large increase” in people taking part in public demonstrations or signing petitions.
In 2016 56 per cent said they signed a petition.
CAF suggests this could be partly down to Brexit and Donald Trump.
Some 6 per cent said that they had taken part in a protest. This rises to 11 per cent for people living in London.
50 per cent say charities are ‘trustworthy’
Since May 2016 CAF has been asking people whether they think charities are trustworthy and overall 50 per cent say that they believe charities to be trustworthy or very trustworthy.
Trust peaked in November when it was 53 per cent and was at its lowest in December when it was at 47 per cent.
Popular causes
CAF said that medial research was the most popular cause, with 26 per cent saying that they had given to that kind of charity in the previous four weeks.
One quarter said that they had given to animal welfare charities and 24 per cent to children or young people organisations.
Methodology
CAF changed its methodology during the year and from May 2016 began interviewing 1,000 people per month. This report is based on 8,000 interviews and it expects next year's report to based on 12,000 interviews. It worked with YouGov, which carries out the interviews, and has "factored up" results for 2016 so it can present a full calendar year.
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