The head of England’s charity watchdog has berated the super-rich for failing to give enough money to good causes, saying the voluntary sector faces an “existential crisis” amid the social and economic turmoil facing the UK.
The chair of the Charity Commission, Orlando Fraser, said the UK’s top 1% of earners were giving less to charity than they were a decade ago, despite enjoying significant increases in their personal wealth over the same period.
He said: “On the whole, we have a vibrant culture of service and generosity. The sad fact, however, is that some of those in our country with the deepest pockets are not covering themselves with glory in philanthropic terms – and this matters.”
Fraser cited figures indicating that while the incomes of the top 1% grew by 10% in real terms between 2011 and 2019, the typical donation to charity made by the very highest earners over that period had fallen by a fifth to just £48 a month.
Although the top 1% as a whole gave between £2bn and £3bn a year to charitable causes, it is estimated this was down to the generosity of only 20% of that group. “So 80% of the top 1% are not contributing meaningfully to that figure,” Fraser said.
He contrasted the meanness of the UK’s super-rich when it comes to charitable giving with the relative generosity of ordinary UK citizens, and the philanthropic efforts of the wealthy in the US, Canada and New Zealand.
The top 1% in the US gave billions more to charity each year than their British counterparts, he said. “This is disappointing enough, but it verges on shameful when you consider how vibrant giving and volunteering are amongst the less fortunate of their fellow UK citizens.”
Last year, people in the UK gave about £10.7bn to charitable causes, with millions giving up their time each week to volunteer and act as trustees, he said.
Fraser said many charities and their beneficiaries “face an existential crisis” in the months ahead as a result of economic recession and the cost of living crisis. Demand and costs had soared while donations were down in many charities, putting them under increasing financial pressure, and their survival in jeopardy.
“It is too early for the impact of the current crisis to filter through to stark sector-wide statistics, such as large numbers of charities winding up and coming off the register. [closing down]. But the anecdotal evidence of its impact is all around us,” he said.
Philanthropy had a leading role to play in reducing the financial damage caused to the sector in recent months, he said. “Yet sadly, despite this desperate need for greater philanthropy, credible evidence strongly suggests that not all of the top 1% are rising to the challenge.”
Fraser, who was speaking at a Beacon Philanthropy Forum, paid tribute to the efforts of philanthropists such as Hans and Julia Rausing, who launched a £10m food poverty charity programme this month, and the Sainsbury Foundation.
“I understand the squeamishness some feel when they see rich people engaging in conspicuous philanthropy – it can make us feel uncomfortable, because it reminds us of the deep disparities of wealth and power around us,” said Fraser.
“But, to my mind, we need to overcome that attitude, and recognise that charities, and those who are vulnerable in our society, directly suffer if we inadvertently discourage such giving.”
He criticised what he called “an unhelpful tendency” to malign philanthropists. “We have seen scrutiny that supposes giving must be motivated by cynicism, by an attempt to ‘whitewash’ a bad reputation, or to obscure nefarious deeds, or to increase an individual’s power. This feels misguided.”
