CAF Research

UK RESEARCH HUB

Discover insight into donor behaviour, key issues affecting charities and responses to significant UK events.

Subscribe to our free research
 

introducing CAF's UK research

As an independent charitable foundation, CAF is uniquely placed to understand the charity sector.  Our UK research provides charities, government, individuals and companies with insight and knowledge into giving trends across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 

Our annual UK Giving report is the largest study of individual giving behaviour in the UK. UK Giving is augmented by monthly insights published as infographics, focussing on topics such as; trust and charity, placed based giving and contactless donations.  The Charity Street series uncovers the vital role charity plays in everyone's lives.  Our FTSE 100 giving reports analyse charitable giving trends among the country's top corporations.

All of our research and insight is free and we are happy to discuss our findings.  Subscribe and be the first to hear about our latest research.  If you have any questions, please contact the Research team.

Focus on: Giving in Scotland

Our Scotland Giving reports provide unique insight into Scottish generosity and are the largest study of giving behaviour for the country. In 2019 our research revealed Scottish people are more generous than the UK as a whole when it comes to being charitable, but the percentage of people giving to charity is on the slide.
 
Scotland giving 580 260

Scotland Giving 2019

Our latest study provides key insights into the charitable landscape in Scotland and how these trends in giving have changed over the past two years

Read the report
    
Watch CAF's Head of Research Susan Pinkney, discuss top level findings from this research.  
    

UK Giving

For more than ten years our annual UK Giving survey has provided unique, comprehensive research into donor behaviour, examining the impact of key issues affecting charities. Each month we also ask more than 1000 UK adults about current charity issues. We publish our findings as a free monthly infographic. Sign up to receive our latest research by email.
  
which in the last year uk giving 2018

Key findings from the 2019 UK Giving report:

  • The proportion of people giving money to charity has seen a steady decline.
  • Trust in charities has decreased significantly since 2016.
  • While fewer people are giving, those who do are giving higher amounts. 
  • The amount given to charity in 2018 remains largely the same as 2017 at £10.1 billion.
  • Children/young people and animal welfare are the most popular causes.

Read the UK Giving report

CAF's Charity Landscape report 2019

Our annual research with charity leaders reveals the challenges they face, and assesses the impact these challenges have on the sector's ability to meet the needs of its beneficiaries.

The 2019 survey results are uncovered a complex mixture of hope, fear and resilience; against an ongoing backdrop of uncertainty and change. Out findings include:

  • 63% of UK charities believe that Brexit will have a negative impact on their work
  • 23% of charity leaders said that the EU withdrawal process had already had an impact with 33% of those reporting issues with recruitment and retention of staff and 19% a loss of EU funding or projects
  • 37% believe there will be a decrease in donations as a result of EU withdrawal
   
Discover the Charity Landscape
Charity Landscape infographic

Print friendly version of the findings (best printed A3 duplex)

charity street UK

Charities play a vital role in our national life - but are we fully aware of how much good they do? Our regular Charity Street reports reveal how different age groups, areas and households use and value charities in the UK today.

 

smiling people 380 220 unsplash

IMAGE

Charity Street I

Read how charities played a vital role in our national life in 2014.

Visit our first Charity Street report
unsplash mother child street union jack flag 380 220

IMAGE

Discover giving at a local level with Charity Street II

Published in 2016, Charity Street II explores how the UK public uses charitable services.

Read our insights
cotswold way unsplash 380 220

IMAGE

Who is using charity? Find out in Charity Street III

We track the use of charitable services by households and individuals in 2018.

Visit Charity Street III

Trends in corporate giving

We reveal charitable giving trends among FTSE 100 companies and highlight the most generous industry. For the first time our 2018 research compares the British public’s perception of corporate giving by FTSE 100 companies, with the facts.

 

Corporate giving by the FTSE 100, 2007-2014

The FTSE 100 gave £2.5bn to good causes in 2012, a £1.2bn rise since 2007 – despite the economic downturn.

Read the report

Corporate giving by the FTSE 100, 2009-2014

Our analysis shows Britain’s biggest companies have largely protected their charitable giving in the face of falling revenues.

Read our corporate giving report
City of London panorama CAF

Corporate giving 2018 by the FTSE 100

Our findings reveal the recent charitable giving trends amongst FTSE 100 companies and highlight the most generous industry.

Find out about corporate giving in the UK

Want to know more?

CONTACT THE RESEARCH TEAM

Our research programme is focussed on investigating and increasing understanding of charitable giving and philanthropy.

Get in touch today