Donations to charities show fall

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The number of people giving money to charity has fallen, according to statistics in a new report.

The figures have been released by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), and the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).

The UK Giving 2007 Report reveals the proportion of the UK population that gave to charity in 2006/07 dropped to 54%, down by 3% on the previous year.

Total contributions are also down 3%, to £9.5 billion.

Increasing debt

Stuart Etherington, the chief executive of NCVO, said: "We don't know yet if this is just a blip, rather than a trend of people becoming less generous to charity.

"Individual donations play a huge role in funding the work that charities carry out in our communities, so we hope that worries such as increasing debt and rising house prices won't put people off giving to the causes that need them."

The report also uncovers differences in the way men and women give to charity.

Women are more likely to give, and are also more generous with their gifts. Dr Sylke Schnepf University of Southampton

Married women are most likely to give, while single men are the least likely to donate and the least generous.

There are some positive findings, however.

The report shows the total amount being donated through regular methods of giving, such as direct debits, increased from 22% of all donations in 2004/05 to 29% in 2006/07.

The average amount that each donor gives every month has also gone up, from £28 in 2005/06 to £29 in 2006/07.

Donations 'vital'

Dr John Low, the chief executive of CAF, said charities were becoming reliant on the increasing generosity of a diminishing number of donors.

He said: "With the overall amount that people tell us they give to charity this year going down slightly, it's more vital than ever that we all try to give what we can.

"By making regular, tax efficient donations, however small, we can provide charities with a vital and sustainable source of income into the future."

THE GENDER GAP Married women are most likely to give, with 62% donating, compared with 52% of married men Men are more likely to give if they are married, or living with a partner. 52% of married men give compared with 44% of single men.Single men are the least likely to give, and the least generous.Women are more likely to give to animal charities if they are living alone.

Dr Sylke Schnepf, of the School of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton, said: "What this research shows is that women are more likely to give, and are also more generous with their gifts.

"Even though men give on average more than women, that is only because a small number of men give very large amounts."

Dr Schnepf said that out of those that do give, 90% of single women donate more than single men.

He said the pattern remains the same even when differences between men and women in income, age, education, profession and family structure are taken into account.

He added: "As a result, it must be other characteristics or attitudes that explain the gender gap in giving, for example, women are on average more concerned about poverty in poor countries than men."

Only religious causes have seen an increase in the number of people giving to them, with an 8% rise from 2005/06 to 2006/07.