Findings from UK Giving 2012, the most in-depth and long-running study of charitable giving habits commissioned by NCVO and the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), shows that over 2011/12 the UK public gave £9.3 billion to charity.

1. UK Giving 2012
An overview of charitable giving in
the UK, 2011-12
Please feel free to use and share these slides. Please cite CAF/NCVO as the source.

2. 1. Introduction: charitable giving in the UK
This slide pack reports on charitable donations made by the UK adult
population.
Giving to charity manifests itself in many different ways: from giving loose
change to monthly direct debits; from giving to the homeless to international
NGOs. Not all charitable giving is to charities. Donations might be made by
individuals or collectively as families; donors could be children or adults. We
capture some, though not all, of this complexity.
In a typical year there are many different surveys of giving. These inevitably
produce different results or incomplete pictures (e.g. omnibus surveys are
unlikely to include major philanthropists).
This slide pack is based on questions that have been asked in the
ONS Omnibus survey every year since 2004.

3. 2. How do we estimate what people give?
• Our estimates are based upon the
Source: www.flickr.com/photos/michelhrv/2616072076/
responses by a representative sample of
British adults.
• We ask what causes people support, what
methods they use to give, and how much
they gave in the last month.
• These results are weighted to reflect the
population and grossed to produce annual
estimates.
• Previous years’ totals are adjusted for
inflation.
• UK Giving 2012 is the eighth report in
a series of in-depth surveys of the • The sample size varies a little from year to
charitable giving habits of the UK year; in 2011/12 3,319 interviews were
public. achieved, spread evenly over the three
• The survey is commissioned by the months (June 1,196, October 1,063 and
NCVO and CAF, and is carried out in February 1,060).
three waves (June, October and
February) by the Office of National • The response rate over the three months
Statistics as a module in the Omnibus averaged 61% (June 66%, October 58%
survey. and February 59%).

4. 3. What proportion of the population give to
charity?
• The proportion of people donating to charitable causes in a typical month has
decreased over the last year, from 58% to 55%.
• Giving this year seems to have decreased back to a more typical level; apart from the
dip in 2008/09, the proportion giving was stable at 56% between 2006/07 and
2009/10.

5. 4. How many people give in a typical month?
We estimate it’s…
28.4
million people
• Over half of adults gave in a typical month in 2011/12, equivalent to 28.4 million
donors.
• This year the decline in participation (from 55% to 58% in 2010/11) has outweighed the
rate of increase in the adult population.

6. 5. How much do donors typically give each month?
Median: £10/ month
Mean: £27/ month
• The median monthly gift to charity in 2011/12 was £10 per donor.
• The mean is much higher, at £27/month per donor. That’s because a small number of
donors give some large amounts.

7. 6. Why are large donations important?
x = £3.7bn
6% of donors give £100 or more, 40% of total giving
x = £5.6bn
94% of donors give less than £100, 60% of total giving

8. 7. How much is given in total?
If we ask the public who give…
Our survey of individuals
produces an estimate of
£9.3bn
for the year 2011/12
• Based on our survey of individuals we estimate that £9.3bn was given to charity in
2011/12

9. 8. Is the amount given changing over time?
• The estimated total amount donated to charity by adults in 2011/12 was £9.3 billion.
Compared to 2010/11, this is a decrease of £1.7 billion in cash terms, and a decrease of
£2.3 billion in real terms, after adjusting for inflation.
• Between 2010/11 and 2011/12, the total amount donated has decreased by 15% on
the unadjusted totals and by 20% in real terms (adjusting the 2010/11 total for
inflation).

10. 9. Who gives?
• Women are more likely to give than men
(58% compared to 52%).
• In 2011/12 women aged 45-64, and
women aged 65 or more are the groups
mostly to give (62%) and they also gave
the largest median amount (£15).
• Although consistently the most likely to
give, the percentage of people in
managerial and professional groups giving
has decreased (66% compared to 70% in
the previous year), as has the amount they
give (£17 compared to £20).

11. 10. What are the most popular causes?
• In 2011/12 medical research was supported by 33% of donors and was the most
popular cause, as for all previous years of the survey.
• Religious causes attracted the largest donations on average, with a median amount
given of £20 per month, and received 17% of the overall amount donated.

12. Where to find out more
UK Giving
Both the UK Giving 2012 full report and summary can be downloaded via
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/giving and www.cafonline.org/giving
Other sources on giving
Million Pound Donors:
http://www.kent.ac.uk/sspssr/cphsj/documents/C000028_A4MPReport_V13_051211.pd
f
The UK Civil Society Almanac 2012: www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/almanac
The World Giving Index 2011: www.cafonline.org/worldgivingindex
The ESRC Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy: www.cgap.org.uk