12 February 2013
Commenting on the Government's Community Life Survey,
Paul Rees, Executive Director of the Charities Aid Foundation,
said: “This survey is further evidence that British people remain
extraordinarily generous with their time and money. It is humbling
that people continue to give their time and money to the causes
they care about, despite the fact that many people are struggling
with falling incomes and rising prices.
“Volunteering for a cause you care about is an important force
for good. And it is vital that the wave of enthusiasm for
volunteering, sparked by the Olympics, is translated into a
long-term legacy of people devoting their time to helping
others.
“However, this survey does shows that giving money to charity
has fallen in real terms since 2010 and that the current year is
the lowest on record. It also shows a drop in the percentage of
people giving monthly from 79% in 2005 to 74% in 2012. This is
despite the fact that the survey was conducted during the heady
afterglow of the Olympics, and overlapped with a quarter when the
economy was growing at a faster rate than at any time since the
credit crunch.
"It is clearly more important than ever that we are not
complacent and do our best to encourage people to back Britain’s
charities, as many organisations increasingly struggle with being
asked to do more with less."
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