# Financial pressures saw donations drop by £5bn last year – report

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/04/24/financial-pressures-saw-donations-drop-by-5bn-last-year-report/
- Published: 2023-04-24T07:43:07+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Charitable giving added £23 billion to the UK economy in 2022, representing 0.8%
of total UK GDP, according to a report from the Benefact Group, but the value of
donations halved year on year.**

Highlighting the contribution of donations and volunteering to the UK economy, the
Benefact Group’s inaugural [Value of Giving](http://benefactgroup.com/value-of-giving)
report shows the annual value of volunteering in the UK reached £18.7bn last year.
The value of charitable donations added another £4.3bn in 2022, with 76% of people
giving – up from 64% in 2018/19.

However, while more gave, they gave less, with donations down £5bn from 2021’s £
9.3bn. This is attributed to increased living costs and soaring bills.

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The research was commissioned by Benefact Group and conducted by the Centre of Economics
and Business Research (Cebr), and found that the sector’s value to the UK economy
in 2022 was larger than the sports and gambling sector valued at £18.4bn combined.

#### Charitable donations

The report found that charitable donations rose steadily from £5.9bn in 2010/11 
to £9.8bn in 2020, falling to £4.3bn in 2022. The average amount given by those 
donating over a year has more than halved since the beginning of the pandemic, falling
from £261 in 2018/19 to £101 in 2022.

#### Volunteering

It also highlights how the pre-pandemic decade saw a steady increase in the value
of volunteering, rising by £7.5bn from £11.2bn to £18.7bn between 2010/11 to 2018/
19. The pandemic and lockdown restrictions were then key factors in the annual value
of volunteering falling to £11bn in 2020.

A post-pandemic surge in volunteering has seen levels since return to pre-Covid 
levels, according to the report, with the proportion of adults giving up their free
time to help good causes rising from 17.9% in 2018/19 to 29.7% in 2022. However,
this has been offset by a fall in the average hours spent volunteering, with average
volunteering hours halving since 2020, from 12 hours over a four-week period to 
six hours in 2022.

Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive Officer of Benefact Group, said: 

> “The charity sector is a cornerstone of British society and this report quantifies
> the combined value of the charitable donations and volunteering to the economy,
> for the first time. As the third largest corporate donor in the UK, charitable
> giving is at the heart of what we do and we donate all our available profits to
> good causes. We encourage businesses – who can also play a pivotal role in supporting
> the sector – to continue to donate and empower their employees to continue volunteering.
> The combined effort of corporates collectively donating a proportion of their 
> profits and the public kindly giving up time to volunteer can drive a crucial 
> movement for good within society.”

Kay Neufeld, Head of Forecasting and Thought Leadership at Cebr, said: 

> “Our report with Benefact Group gives a comprehensive overview of the economic
> value of charitable giving and volunteering in the UK at a time when the country
> emerged from pandemic restrictions. It is encouraging to see that the share of
> people giving to charity or volunteering in their free time has not only fully
> recovered but even exceeded pre-pandemic levels. By quantifying this combined 
> value of giving, we’re pleased to be able to demonstrate the crucial importance
> of this sector to the UK economy.”