New research highlights desire for greater community involvement across the UK

One in six people in the UK want more opportunities to engage with their local community, with even higher demand in some urban areas, according to new research by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).

CAF’s UK Local Giving Report, which looks at levels of charitable giving, community engagement and local pride in every UK constituency, found that just 37% of people engaged in their community last year, while only half (52%) felt a sense of local pride. 

The report highlights the virtuous circle that when people engage in their local communities, they are more likely to donate to charity and feel a sense of local pride. Engagement includes activities such as helping in their local area, taking part in a local campaign, supporting someone who is vulnerable or maintaining public spaces.  

The areas with the greatest appetite for getting involved include urban, lower income areas such as Birmingham Ladywood, Manchester Rusholme, and Liverpool Riverside where the number of residents keen for more opportunities to connect rises to more than one in five. Those who want to engage tend to be younger, educated renters in cities, but cite their main barriers are a lack of time, uncertainty about where to begin, and not knowing others to participate with. 

However, this new research also reveals that when people see the positive impact of charities in their local community, they are much more likely to donate overall, twice as likely to give locally and three times as likely to volunteer. 

CAF’s Local Giving Report also finds that:

• Community engagement: the most engaged region was the South West where almost half of people (47%) engaged with their community, compared to the East of England and the North East, where less than a third did (30% and 31% respectively). The constituency with the highest levels of local engagement was Bristol Central where 59% of people engaged with activities in their local community.   

• Local pride: most of the ten constituencies with the greatest levels of pride are higher income areas in the North of England, where around seven in 10 people claimed a strong sense of belonging to their local community and satisfaction with their local area. This contrasts with constituencies in the Midlands, which have some of the lowest levels of local pride, and experience significant deprivation. In Wolverhampton South East, just 28% of residents say they are satisfied with their local area and feel a sense of belonging to it. 

• Giving to charity: people in the UK donated 0.9% of their incomes to charity, a decline from 1.1% in 2024. Sheffield Hallam is the most generous constituency in the country, with residents donating 1.6% of their incomes. Higher income areas are likely to have more donors and generate larger donation totals but rank much lower in terms of percentage of income given. For instance, people in Kensington & Bayswater donated the most between them, at an estimated £41.7 million, however that equates to just 0.29% of the average income in that area.  

Mark Greer, Managing Director of CAF, commented: “Charities are at the core of our communities. Through their work up and down the country, they strengthen local areas and support those in need.  

“When we are facing a sustained trend of declining donations, part of the solution to unlocking greater giving lies in understanding the power of place and community. It might seem obvious, but places matter to people. This report shows that when people are engaged in a local area, they tend to give more. It tells us that the people in areas with low levels of engagement and giving aren’t disinterested – they need and want more opportunities.  

“We need targeted investment and collaboration from government, philanthropists and businesses to revitalise local cultures of giving and encourage community connections, helping to strengthen charities and the places they support, for the future.”

Civil Society and Youth Minister Stephanie Peacock said: "We welcome the findings of this report, which underline the importance of fostering a strong culture of giving in local communities. It rightly highlights how giving back builds pride, connection and belonging in the places people call home. Through our plan for place-based philanthropy, Our Place to Give, we will strengthen links between donors and communities, deepen partnerships and unlock further investment across the country. We look forward to working with partners across the sector to deliver this vision and ensure every region has the resources and opportunities it needs to thrive.”

CAF’s interactive map allows users to see how much is given in their local area, as well as the number of donors, levels of engagement, and local pride. 

Notes to Editors 

4. A statistical technique known as Multilevel Regression and Poststratification (or MRP) was used to create the constituency- and ward-level data and maps. It is a method for adjusting public opinion poll results to account for any imbalance between the survey sample and the population in each constituency and is often used to predict election results by seat. MRP was carried out by Electoral Calculus on behalf of CAF.