Charity really begins at home as Brits stop donating because they’re too skint

More than a third of UK adults have reduced donations or have stopped donating to charities, according to data from the wealth management firm Rathbones

The old saying that charity starts at home is becoming a reality for millions of skint Brits who are cutting back on giving to good causes.

More than a third of UK adults – some 35% – have reduced donations or have stopped donating to charities entirely, new data shows.

Over half (55%) admit they don’t know if they will ever return to previous levels of giving, according to the survey by wealth management firm Rathbones.

And worryingly for Britain’s struggling charity sector, over one in 10 Brits – some 13% – said they would never contribute to good causes again. The survey of more than 1,000 Brits found nearly one in three volunteers had slashed their hours or stopped working for charities altogether in the past two years.

Nearly half of fundraisers – 44% – have hung up their collection buckets, while two in five who still collect for charities reported donations plummeting by 50% or more. Brits aged 35 to 55 are most likely to have cut back on volunteering or stopped completely.

However, encouragingly for the future of charity work, under-35s are most likely to have given more time to charities in the past two years.

But Rathbones said that overall, its research painted a concerning picture for good causes, underlining Charities Aid Foundation findings that revealed the number of Brits giving to charity had dropped by four million to the lowest level since 2016.

The UK public still gave £15.4billion last year to charity, “highlighting how much volunteers contribute to the charity sector”, said Rathbones.

It came as more than one in 10 Brits said they were now making more use of stretched charity services or had used them for the first time over the past two years.

Rathbones said: “As the Government prepares its upcoming budget, the sector is fearful of possible impact. A Rathbones study of 100 senior charity executives in October found that 70% believe the 2025 Budget will hit them negatively financially due to further likely cuts to benefits and rises in taxation.

“A squeeze on household finances might further impact donations.”

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.