# CAF UK Giving report reveals £9.7 billion donated in 2016 - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/04/13/caf-uk-giving-report-reveals-9-7bn-donated-2016/ - Published: 2017-04-13T08:36:22+01:00 - Author: Melanie May **The UK public donated £9.7 billion to charities last year, according to CAF’s latest UK Giving report, with 61% of people giving money to good causes.**   November was the most popular month for giving in 2016, with 41% of people donating during the course of the month compared to an annual average of 33%. According to the [Charities Aid Foundation](https://www.cafonline.org/) (CAF), the increase can be attributed to the month’s big campaigns, which included [Children in Need](http://www.bbc.co.uk/corporate2/childreninneed), the [Poppy Appeal](http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/ways-to-give/fundraising-appeals/poppy-appeal-2016/), and [Movember](https://uk.movember.com/). The annual CAF [UK Giving Report](https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/about-us-publications/caf-uk-giving-2017.pdf) also shows December to have higher than average giving levels, with CAF attributing this to [#GivingTuesday](http://www.givingtuesday.org.uk/) and the DEC Yemen Appeal as well as the expected Christmas campaigns. ## Advertisement [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/)   According to the report, people claimed that they were most commonly asked to donate to charity on the street (38%), followed by via direct mail (28%) and television( 27%).     #### Regular giving vs ad hoc donations   Regular giving appears to have declined slightly according to the report’s figures, which shows that 25% give monthly, a fall from 2015’s figure of 31%. At the same time, those giving on an ad hoc basis increased from 41% to 51%.   The average monthly donation was £18 last year while the mean donation was £40. More than half of people (58%) still choose to give cash, while 26% donated using online channels, and just over half (52%) used Gift Aid on their donations.   The most popular causes last year were:   * Medical research. 26% gave to this cause in 2016 * Animal welfare at 25% of people * Children and young people, which received donations from 24%   #### Brexit effect   Brexit had no discernable effect on giving levels, according to CAF although there was a significant increase in the number of people saying they had taken part in a protest or signed a petition. Numbers who had signed a petition in the past four weeks peaked at 35% in July, following the EU referendum.   Volunteering and campaigning have also both increased since the exit vote:   * Almost 9 in 10 people (89%) did something charitable last year, a 10% increase on 2015’s 79% * More than half of the population donated money (61%) * 56% gave goods to charity * One in six (17%) volunteered.   Women were more charitable than men last year, with just 8% saying they had not participated in any charitable activity during the year, compared to 14% of men. And, while younger people are less likely to donate money than older people (54% of 16-24s vs. 68% of 65+) they are more likely to volunteer, sign a petition or take part in a public demonstration or protest.   #### Trust   This year, CAF included questions on trust for the first time, revealing that 50% considered charities to have been trustworthy across 2016. Demographically, the report reveals that women (51% vs. 48% of men), young people aged 16-24 (58% vs. 47% of 65+) and those of social grades AB (58% vs. 43% of DEs) are signi cantly more likely to have trust in charities across the year.   John Low, chief executive of CAF commented on the findings, saying:   > “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. > “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. > “We know that people increasingly feel they want to make a difference and many > see charities as a way to achieve that. Charities already play an integral role > in the lives of so many. At this critical time in our nation’s history, their > importance is only likely to increase.”   Interviews for the survey were carried out by YouGov, with this year’s survey doubling the number of interviewees from 4,000 to 8,000. This is a result of a change of methodology, which saw 1,000 interviews conducted a month from May 2016. As a result, from next year the report will be based on 12,000 interviews per year. ![Loading](https://fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/page-views-count/ajax-loader- 2x.gif) ## Comments ### By: HowardLake - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/04/13/caf-uk-giving-report-reveals-9-7bn-donated-2016/#comment-2948 - Published: 2017-04-19T10:45:00+01:00 [https://twitter.com/cafonline/status/853535438866268164](https://twitter.com/cafonline/status/853535438866268164)