How Britain stopped giving
Then, donations came from multiple sources – from thriving charity stores in cities across the South West, from bucket collections outside supermarkets, from sponsored events and a quarterly email appeal. Now, the stores are all closed, the buckets are largely empty, the events are sparsely attended and email donations have dropped 20 per cent.
'The cost-of-living crisis has really affected the way people support charities,' says Sara Shearman, the director of fundraising at Go Beyond. 'It used to be something people did quite naturally; now, it is seen as a luxury.'
Sadly, it is far from alone in its struggles. Last week, the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) released its latest UK Giving Report, which backed up what floundering charities have been saying for months – that the number of people donating has dropped to critical levels, as the wider British public becomes significantly less generous.
The figures are stark: 55 per cent of the nearly 14,000 people surveyed said they had donated to a charity in the previous year – a drop of 10 per cent from 2019. At a national level, that means 5.2 million fewer people reaching into their pockets. Donation rates were down across the board but particularly among young adults: less than a third of under-25s now support any charity.
The CAF's findings also revealed a reduction in volunteering. In 2023, 7.1 million people helped out in some capacity. Last year, that figure had fallen to 5.6 million. Overall, the number of people supporting charities – whether through donations, sponsorship or time – has fallen to the lowest levels recorded since the CAF began tracking such trends in 2016.
'We are living through a time of real income pressure with budgets needing to go much further, so you'd naturally expect charitable giving to be constrained a little,' says Neil Heslop, the chief executive of the CAF. 'What is concerning is that this trend seems to go beyond this specific economic situation, with people now simply getting out of the habit of giving up their time or money, and the proportion of the public that donates to charity in steady decline.'
Lauren Weymouth, the editor of Charity Times, believes we are in an era of giving fatigue. 'There was a huge fundraising surge during the pandemic, and people did donate generously,' she says, 'but five years on, it has gotten to the point where they are looking at the increase in costs in everything and thinking, 'Well, I have done a lot recently, so I am going to pause on that.''
For Shearman, there are more profound factors at play too. Traditionally, she notes, charities would collect money outside supermarkets – something that has been all but destroyed by our increasingly cashless society. 'Fundraising is mostly online now,' she says, 'but charities have suffered from this. Most of them have invested in technology to accept card payments via the internet, but it is tough on the very small charities that don't have the infrastructure.'
Similarly, there are fewer ways to give money casually than there were before, which is why Shearman has introduced a button on her website allowing people to donate £3.50 to buy a child an ice cream – something she likens to throwing a few coins in a bucket.
These trends have coincided with the rise of the subscription economy, which has spelt trouble for organisations historically reliant themselves on consistent contributions from supporters.
'We think that charities' biggest competitors are other charities but because they rely on subscriptions, it is actually companies like Netflix or Spotify,' says Weymouth. 'People are looking at the money coming out of their accounts each month additionally and thinking, 'Well, Spotify has gone up, but I need that, so I'll cut back on Oxfam.''
Time, too, appears to be more of a premium than ever before. 'We organised a zip wire event but found it really difficult to get people to enter,' says Shearman. 'The money just isn't there and people are much more particular with their time now, which means we have to work so much harder to get the same income.'
And then there is the rise of second-hand-clothing apps, which has proved disastrous for charity shops.
Stephanie Moore is the founder and CEO of Reach Out to the Community, an independent charity shop in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, which aims to combat homelessness and food poverty. Since founding the organisation in 2016, she has seen donations drop in quality and quantity as people have turned to online marketplaces such as Vinted.
'Times have changed and people are selling much more online,' she says. Her shop survives only thanks to donations from older people, who give far more generously than younger generations. Annie Dodd, a volunteer at Reach Out, echoes this. 'Older people are more conscious of not wanting to waste things,' she says. 'I think a lot of young people use [apps such as Facebook Marketplace].'
Similarly, the quality of donations has fallen off a cliff as people increasingly drop off items they cannot sell.
'At the moment, we're getting a lot of stuff we're having to dispose of – cracked plates or broken games consoles, stuff like that; stuff that really shouldn't come to a charity shop,' says Moore.
'Generally I'll only bring stuff in [to charity shops] when I'm moving – I don't know if that's bad, it's just a thing,' says Felix Woods, 22. 'I sell the odd thing, and I know people who do – it's a good way to recycle clothes.'
For Go Beyond, this shift meant it became too difficult to keep its stores open. 'The charity shop is dying,' says Shearman. 'There is a huge amount of competition to attract the dwindling number of good donations left out there, so we decided to close the shops and invest more in fundraising.'
Another issue affecting donations is the damaging perception that charity executives are overpaid. Many such roles come with six-figure salaries, and the median annual salary for those heading the UK's 100 largest charities now stands at just shy of £200,000, according to industry research.
'People feel like they are giving to an organisation that is paying executives more money than they will ever make and it really bothers them,' says Weymouth.
For Nick Connolly, the chief executive of homelessness charity EveryYouth, getting donations from the general public is now too arduous. 'The amount of money you need to invest to make individual giving work is beyond our capability, because to make it worthwhile you need people to give regular gifts – and for that you need to advertise, which costs a lot.'
Instead, Connolly is sourcing money from corporations and fundraisers – but that is not without its own issues. 'Whereas in the past, I would be competing against 20 or 30 other charity organisations, now the number is usually over 100,' he says, noting that Labour's tax raid on employers has only worsened an already dire situation. 'Add to that national insurance increases from the Government and you get a very difficult environment indeed.'
As pressure on the sector (which employs approximately a million people) increases, certain types of organisations are faring better than others. The CAF survey found that people favoured health charities, which scooped up an estimated £2.22 billion of donations last year.
'Health charities are the ones doing the best because people can see the effect Covid had on the health sector and because they can relate to them – everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer or Alzheimer's,' says Weymouth. 'Meanwhile, environmental charities are really struggling, because while people know that climate change is happening, they're not as closely linked to the cause.'
Weymouth notes that any charities focusing on diversity or inclusion are also suffering more than most – this might be because, statistically, the donors who are still giving a significant amount are more likely to be white and middle class, and may have been put off by overt identity politics.
Similarly, homelessness charities are having a difficult time. 'Homelessness is becoming more prevalent but unfortunately no less stigmatised, so people can be unsure how to respond – if at all,' says Laura Herring, the director of fundraising and communications at St Mungo's. 'The cost-of-living crisis also means that people aren't able to give as much, or as often, as they would like to.'
All in all, it is a bleak situation – except for one area. Charity bequests are up by a significant amount, as people donate less in life but more in death. In the past 20 years, money bequeathed to charity in people's wills has risen from £1.7 billion a year to £4 billion, totalling about 15 per cent of all donations.
'It is a brilliant way of giving because it costs you nothing now,' says Richard Radcliffe, the founder of Radcliffe Consulting, which specialises in legacy fundraising. 'This is an ageing society and so it makes sense. It's incredibly convenient, there are inheritance tax benefits, and it makes you feel really happy because you can choose a charity close to your heart.
'We call it life-driven, death-activated. Honestly, I think it is the future of the sector – and increasingly the only way for many charities to survive.'
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Post
14 hours ago
- New York Post
Science and local sleuthing identify 250-year-old shipwreck on Scottish island
When a schoolboy going for a run found the ribs of a wooden ship poking through the dunes of a remote Scottish beach, it sparked a hunt by archaeologists, scientists and local historians to uncover its story. Through a mix of high-tech science and community research, they have an answer. Researchers announced Wednesday that the vessel is very likely the Earl of Chatham, an 18th-century warship that saw action in the American War of Independence before a second life hunting whales in the Arctic — and then a stormy demise. 4 A close-up of the 3d model of the Sanday Wreck, which has recently been identified as the Earl of Chatham. Wessex Archaeology / SWNS 'I would regard it as a lucky ship, which is a strange thing to say about a ship that's wrecked,' said Ben Saunders, senior marine archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, a charity that helped community researchers conduct the investigation. 'I think if it had been found in many other places, it wouldn't necessarily have had that community drive, that desire to recover and study that material, and also the community spirit to do it,' Saunders said. Uncovered after 250 years The wreck was discovered in February 2024 after a storm swept away sand covering it on Sanday, one of the rugged Orkney Islands that lie off Scotland's northern tip. It excited interest on the island of 500 people, whose history is bound up with the sea and its dangers. Around 270 shipwrecks have been recorded around the 20-square-mile island since the 15th century. Local farmers used their tractors and trailers to haul the 12 tons of oak timbers off the beach, before local researchers set to work trying to identify it. 4 Ben Saunders, Senior Marine Archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology studies a timber sample used for the scientific analysis of the Sanday Wreck. Archaeologists have identified a 250-year-old shipwreck as a former Royal Navy vessel. Historic Environment Scotland / SWNS 'That was really good fun, and it was such a good feeling about the community – everybody pulling together to get it back,' said Sylvia Thorne, one of the island's community researchers. 'Quite a few people are really getting interested in it and becoming experts.' Dendrochronology — the science of dating wood from tree rings — showed the timber came from southern England in the middle of the 18th century. That was one bit of luck, Saunders said, because it coincides with 'the point where British bureaucracy's really starting to kick off' and detailed records were being kept. 'And so we can then start to look at the archive evidence that we have for the wrecks in Orkney,' Saunders said. 'It becomes a process of elimination. 'You remove ones that are Northern European as opposed to British, you remove wrecks that are too small or operating out of the north of England and you really are down to two or three … and Earl of Chatham is the last one left.' 4 Saunders from Wessex Archaeology supervises the Sanday Wreck timbers as they are placed in a freshwater tank to preserve them. Orkney Islands Counci / SWNS Wars and whaling Further research found that before it was the Earl of Chatham, the ship was HMS Hind, a 24-gun Royal Navy frigate built in Chichester on England's south coast in 1749. Its military career saw it play a part in the expansion — and contraction — of the British Empire. It helped Britain wrest control of Canada from France during the sieges of Louisbourg and Quebec in the 1750s, and in the 1770s served as a convoy escort during Britain's failed effort to hold onto its American colonies. Sold off by the navy in 1784 and renamed, the vessel became a whaling ship, hunting the huge mammals in the Arctic waters off Greenland. Whale oil was an essential fuel of the Industrial Revolution, used to lubricate machinery, soften fabric and light city streets. Saunders said that in 1787 there were 120 London-based whaling ships in the Greenland Sea, the Earl of Chatham among them. 4 The Sanday Wreck on the shores of Sanday in February 2024. Wessex Archaeology / SWNS A year later, while heading out to the whaling ground, it was wrecked in bad weather off Sanday. All 56 crew members survived — more evidence, Saunders says, that this was a vessel blessed with luck. Community effort The ship's timbers are being preserved in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre while plans are discussed to put it on permanent display. Saunders said that the project is a model of community involvement in archaeology. 'The community have been so keen, have been so desirous to be involved and to find out things to learn, and they're so proud of it. It's down to them it was discovered, it's down to them it was recovered and it's been stabilized and been protected,' he said. For locals, it's a link to the island's maritime past — and future. Finding long-buried wrecks could become more common as climate change alters the wind patterns around Britain and reshapes the coastline. 'One of the biggest things I've got out of this project is realizing how much the past in Sanday is just constantly with you — either visible or just under the surface,' said Ruth Peace, another community researcher.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Scotland's papers: Police 'ring of steel' for Trump and Osbourne tributes
More from Scotland's papers The Herald The Scotsman Daily Record The Scottish Sun Daily Mail Scottish Daily Express The Times The Telegraph The National The Courier The P&J Glasgow Times Edinburgh News
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Archaeologists uncover identity of 1700s Orkney shipwreck
Archaeologists have uncovered the identity of a 1700s vessel shipwrecked in Orkney. Expert say the vessel discovered on the island of Sanday last year is most likely the Earl of Chatham, a former Royal Navy vessel called HMS Hind that was later renamed once it became a whaling ship. Historic Environment Scotland (HSE), which funded the research, said the sixth-rate 24-gun frigate saw many years of active service, including sieges of Louisbourg and Quebec in the 1750s and the American Revolutionary War in the late 1770s. Once it was decommissioned, it was sold and renamed the Earl of Chatham, becoming a 500-tonne whaling ship. HSE said this was common for Royal Navy ships because their build quality allowed them to withstand the icy conditions of British whaling routes. As the Earl of Chatham, it completed four seasons in the Arctic before ultimately meeting its end in the Bay of Lopness in March 1788. It carried 56 sailors on board at the time, all of whom survived. Wessex Archaeology, along with with Dendrochronicle and volunteer community researchers, began working on its origins following its discovery in February 2024. Analysis of the wood determined the ship was built with timber from south and south-west England. Archaeologists from Wessex Archaeology, local community researchers, and the Sanday Heritage Centre then spent several months working with archives and community records to find the most likely candidate for the ship. This research was also supported by Sanday Heritage Group and Orkney Archaeology Society. The Sanday Wreck was revealed last year thanks to changes in the climate. Increased storminess and unusual wind patterns led to removal of the covering sands which had hidden and protected the wreck for centuries. Changes to coastlines, which are predicted to accelerate in coming decades, could make similar finds more common. Ben Saunders, senior marine archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, said: 'It is thanks to our dedicated team of community researchers and the evidence they have gathered that means we have been able to identify the Sanday Wreck with a reasonable degree of confidence. 'Throughout this project, we have learned so much about the wreck, but also about the community in Sanday in the 1780s. 'Sanday was infamous for shipwrecks at the time, called 'the cradle of shipwrecks in Scotland', but the community was equally well-known for its hospitability as it looked after sailors who fell afoul of the area's stormy seas. 'We are grateful to the support from our partners, and we're delighted to be able to share our work on this intriguing wreck.' Alison Turnbull, director of external relations and partnerships at HES, said: 'The discovery of the Sanday Wreck is a rare and fascinating story. 'Wessex Archaeology worked closely with the community of Sanday to discover the ship's identity, which shows that communities hold the keys to their own heritage. 'It is our job to empower communities to make these discoveries and be able to tell the story of their historic environment. 'We are proud to have grant-funded this work, which supports both Scotland's archaeology strategy of making archaeology matter, and Scotland's national strategy for the historic environment – Our Past, Our Future.' Nick Hewitt, culture team manager for Orkney Islands Council, added: 'It has been a wonderful team effort so far between many and one we're proud to have been a part of, and will continue to be as we support the Sanday community explore the future possibilities for their wreck.' The timbers are currently housed in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre to conserve them. There visitors can find out more about the wreck's story and Sanday's history.