By Kaye Wiggins, Third Sector Online, 14 January 2010 Poll by Investec Private Bank indicates a drop in donations of more than £500m on previous year The amount of money donated to charities may have dropped by £574m last year, according to new research. A survey of more than 2,000 randomly selected members of the public, carried out last month for Investec Private Bank, suggests that £5.32bn was given by UK residents in 2009, a fall of 9.7 per cent on 2008. Seventy-one per cent of respondents gave money to a charity last year and the average amount donated was £110.20 per person. A fifth of respondents said they had given less money to charity in 2009 than they did in 2008. Eighteen per cent of all the money they donated in 2009 was given in December. According to the report, respondents living in London gave the most money to charity, with an average of £175.12 per person. Yorkshire and Humberside had the smallest proportion of donors, with 62 per cent of respondents from the area saying they had given money to charity last year.

A survey of more than 16,000 respondents carried out in the last 3 months for MyCharitySurvey.com suggests that despite the current economic trend in the UK, 73% of respondents still see themselves supporting at the same level in the next 12 months as they have done in the past. According to the report, despite being faced with a credit crunch, 78% of respondents give donations, 51% join raffle activities and 48% enter lotteries. Respondents either support one fundraising activity or frequently through multiple channels. Interestingly, 95% respondents are happy with the recognition given to them by the charities they support.