ABSTRACT
In the UK total individual giving to general charities stood at £11.5 billion in 2005/6 up 7 per cent on the previous year (NCVO 2008). In a recent Cabinet Offi ce survey 81 per cent of adults claimed to have given to charity in the past four weeks, with women moderately more likely to have given than men (84 per cent versus 78 per cent) (Cabinet Offi ce 2007). As impressive as this might be, charitable giving still represents less than 1 per cent of UK Gross Domestic Product and accounts for only around 1.3 per cent of weekly household expenditure compared with 2 per cent spent on tobacco and 4 per cent on alcohol. There is also considerable inequality in the pattern of giving. The richest 20 per cent of our society devote a mere 0.7 per cent of their household expenditure to charities while the poorest 20 per cent devote 3 per cent (Home Offi ce 2005). Thus while the aggregate level of giving is impressive, there remains considerable scope for improvement.
