The fall in overall donations... mirrors the economy and financial markets in the year 2009/10, the impact of a fall in wealth creation events and of philanthropists increasing the length of their decision making process by becoming more strategic.
Maya Prabhu, Head of UK Philanthropy at Coutts
More than 700 philanthropic gifts worth almost £6bn have been given by individuals, trusts and corporations in the past four years.
The figures are revealed in the most recent Coutts Million Pound Donor report, released this week. It identifies 174 separate £1m plus donations this year (2009/10) and 757 since 2006/7.
However, this year’s donations actually represent a drop of 15% in the level of giving from the previous year, from £1.5bn to £1.3bn, and 201 donations to 174.
The report reveals that individuals remain the the most significant source of these biggest gifts, above trusts and donations. High-net-worth individuals contributed £782m, or 60% of the total value of £1.3bn.
Higher education remains the preferred cause, and international development has witnessed the biggest increase in popularity.
The report, in association with the Centre for Philanthropy, Humanitarianism and Social Justice at the University of Kent, is illustrated with a number of case studies of donors and recipients, who discuss their experience.
As seen in previous years, the most frequent size of donation is exactly £1m, indicating that ‘giving a million’ has both economic and psychological significance for donors, and is the size of gift that establishes a donor amongst the ‘top rank’ of UK philanthropists.
In 2009/10, 10% of these biggest gifts were larger than £10m, and as in previous years, these ‘mega-gifts’ were all deposited into charitable trusts and foundations rather than given directly as donations to operating charities.
Some 154 organisations, including trusts and foundations, were identified as recipients of the large scale donations, though some beneficiaries – primarily well-known universities and London based arts & culture organisations – received multiple ‘million pound donations’.
Maya Prabhu, Head of UK Philanthropy at Coutts, said: ”The results of this study demonstrate the significant contribution that individuals are making to charitable causes at the highest level. In just four years, we have been able to track 757 gifts, totally £6bn.
“While it is clearly important to take steps to encourage more people to start giving, and to encourage those who can to give more, it is also important to pause and celebrate the contribution of individuals and trusts at the most significant levels of philanthropy.
“The fall in overall donations witnessed in this report reflects the undulations that we would expect to see across levels of giving in a longitudinal study. Not only is it consistent with figures emerging from other studies for UK charitable giving, it mirrors the general sentiment in the economy and financial markets in the year 2009/10, the impact of a fall in wealth creation events and of philanthropists increasing the length of their decision making process by becoming more strategic.”
Beth Breeze, Author of the Report, commented: "Before we started this annual study of million pound donations, there was no clear understanding of the scale, role and significance of the largest philanthropic acts in the UK. That was an important gap in our knowledge that needed filling, because we need a proper understanding of current levels of support in order to make robust plans for developing this much-needed source of income in the future.
“The data and analysis provided by the Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent is helping charities, fundraisers and policymakers to build a decent knowledge base about major giving and gain a better understanding of the main trends in contemporary UK philanthropy, which should help the UK to develop a stronger culture of philanthropy."
The latest dip reflects that found in the US where the Million Dollar Donor list saw a fall in value of 25% over a similar time period.
As witnessed in previous years, one individual donor made a 9-figure donation.
The report says the existence of a different person each year making a once-in-a-lifetime transfer of funds from private wealth into a charitable foundation is a key – but unpredictable – element of this data, such that a ‘peak’ or a ‘trough’ may reflect nothing more than the size of this one mega-gift.
Some 10% of donations are worth £10m or more. As in all previous years, all such 8-figure donations are ‘banked’ into charitable trusts and foundations, rather than given directly to be spent by operating charities.
Overall, around half the total value of million pound donations (48%) was ‘banked’ in foundations rather than ‘spent’ on charitable activity in 2009/10. This represents an increase from the 36% that was ‘banked’ in 2008/09, meaning more funds are available for future distribution but less money has been received by operational charities.
Launched in 2008, the Coutts Million Pound Donors Report is an annual study that collates and analyses data on the largest charitable donations made in the UK each year.
If you liked this article why not sign up for our weekly news bulletin LIVEWIRE by clicking here?
LIVEWIRE is our weekly news bulletlin for social entrepreneurs. Click here to read the latest issue which includes:
Like what you read? Sign up for LIVEWIRE here and follow us on Twitter.
Over 4,300 social enterprises and third sector organisations trust us to look after over 149,000 employees’ pensions.With more than 65 years’ experience, we understand.
