Charities suffering as public cuts donations

The amount of money people donate to charity fell by nearly 10 per cent during the first half of the year, according to a survey today.

About 23 per cent of people admitted they donated less money to charity during the six months to the end of June than in the same period of 2009, with only 10 per cent of people saying they increased the amount they gave.

A quarter of people did not give any money to charity during the first six months of the year, while 48 per cent gave up to 50, according to Investec Bank.

Among those who had reduced their donations, 6 per cent said that they gave nothing at all, while 5 per cent had more than halved the amount they handed over.

Overall, the group estimates that charities have suffered a 9.6 per cent drop in the donations they received during the first half of the year.

Jack Jones, of Investec Bank, said: "Our findings suggest that in this age of austerity, charities are suffering from falling donations as people have less money.

"On top of this, many of the cash accounts targeted at them are paying derisory rates of returns."