Forum Brief: Charitable donations

British people donated an extra £400 million to charity in 2002.

However, according to a report by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Charities Aid Foundation, the proportion of the population giving to charities fell from 68.5 per cent to 67.3 per cent.

Charity Commission

John Stoker, chief charity commissioner, told ePolitix.com: "£7.3 billion in public donations is an impressive figure, particularly given the impact on charities of recent poor stockmarket performance.

"While one in five still give via high street collections, it's also interesting to note the trend towards more planned and tax efficient giving - helping charities plan for the longer term. It's enormously encouraging that confidence in charities' integrity remains strong.

"It's clearly vital that charities continue their progress to accountability and openness to keep that confidence."

Forum Response: Voice UK

Kathryn Stone, director of Voice UK, told ePolitix.com: "Voice UK exists almost entirely on charitable donations and we are acutely aware of the difficulties faced by charities who are in the same position.

"There are only a very few funding foundations that will fund core costs - rent, heat, light and so on. Others are more likely to fund project work. However charities then try to skew their work to fit the priorities of the funder.

"We have recently discussed here the idea of promoting giving to charity as good citizenship and it might be something that schools could incorporate into lessons. Charity begins at school?"

Forum Response: The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association

A spokesman for Guide Dogs told ePolitix.com: "Acknowledging that a proportion of the population continues to donate nothing to charity, we have developed a broad portfolio of fundraising activities, designed to appeal to different demographic audiences.

"Of course the collection tin remains important, but at Guide Dogs this is supported by a range of more 'inclusive' fundraising activities. These include social events - such as National Coffee Morning in October; direct mail appeals (Sponsor a Puppy); liaison with corporate donors; and successful bids for charity of the year status at marathons and fayres, most recently Bristol Balloon Fiesta and the forthcoming Bath Half-Marathon.

"Shades for a Day, where the nation is encouraged to raise money for the charity whilst looking 'cool' in sunglasses, has become a £250,000 earner. With supporting education packs, this is an excellent example of Guide Dogs' strategy to give donors something in return for their support, so developing the loyalty bonus between 'givers' and the association."

Forum Response: The Disabilities Trust

Matt Townsend, spokesman for the Disabilities Trust, told ePolitix.com: "Today's survey makes for interesting reading. With an increase of £400 million in donations last year it appears the British public overall remains committed to charities and it is particularly pleasing to see this increase took place despite recent concerns over the general economic outlook.

"One conclusion in the report worth noting is that despite its recent bad publicity street giving still appears to be the most fruitful means of attracting donations, albeit in relatively small amounts from each donor.

"It's also of interest that the majority of private charity income comes from a small number of regular and substantial givers, this has been our experience in the past too.

"We at The Disabilities Trust find that the majority of our donations are in the form of legacies and this does seem to be increasingly important way charities can gain extra income, the reason of course why we joined the recent Legacy Promotion Campaign signed up to by about 100 charities around the country."

Forum Response: Age Concern

Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern England, told ePolitix.com: "Age Concern welcomes the news that the amount of money people in Britain donated to charity in 2002 increased £400 million from 2001. However, the drop in the proportion of the population giving from 68.5 per cent to 67.3 per cent is a reminder to charitable organisations not to take donations for granted.

"Fundraising is vital to the work of charities. Money donated to Age Concern makes a very real difference to the lives of older people, in practical ways every day. Services such as befriending, transport provision, lunch clubs and day centres are a lifeline for older people. Charities need to continue to engage the public, and involve them in fundraising efforts.

"Age Concern's winter fundraiser this year is Wear a Hat Day on December 5, and opportunity for people to host Mad Hatter's Tea Parties and raise money in the process. We hope that adding this social element to giving will capture people's imagination.

"We continue to be very grateful for all the public support and donations received to ensure that we can continue providing vital services to make later life fulfilling for the UK's older population."

Forum Response: Association for Charities

A spokeswoman for the Association for Charities told ePolitix.com: "It is to be hoped that Home Secretary David Blunkett read Wednesday's Times' report focusing on newly-published National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) figures for charitable giving.

"Discounting the odd annual fluctuation, it nevertheless appears that no less than two out of three people in this country regularly give money to charity.

This, and the other equally impressive statistic, that £7+ billion is currently being donated annually, should prompt the minister to make absolutely sure that his proposed revision of our antiquated charity law is allocated parliamentary time in the next session.

"With so much money at stake and so many willing givers, and added to them the millions of beneficiaries and charity volunteers, not to mention the million or more unpaid trustees, it is high time for this teeming sector to have the benefit of a thoroughly modern Charities Act, one that will encourage even more giving and even more widespread participation in the improvement of society and moreover one that, this time around, will ensure that the regulation of our precious charities, albeit necessary, is carried out in a manner consistent with the human values they help to foster.

"The Charities Act 2004 will not come a moment too soon."

Forum Response: Depression Alliance

Jim Thomson, director of Depression Alliance, told ePolitix.com: "While it is encouraging to note that those people already giving to charities have increased their commitment by 4 per cent overall, Depression Alliance is concerned that the pool of donors is decreasing in real terms.

"As always, those who will gain the most are the very largest charities, while small to medium sized organisations are left to fight over the crumbs.

"With government being ever more fickle when selecting which organisations to grace with statutory funding, it's clear that charities will continue having to spend valuable time and resources raising the funds they need just to survive - as opposed to actually helping their beneficiaries."