Donations from UK's top 100 philanthropists ‘fell by almost a third'

The Sunday Times “Rich List” to be published this weekend, reveals a drop in the amount given to charity by the richest British donors.

Charitable donations from the top 100 philanthropists in the UK fell by almost a third to £1.67bn in 2009/10, according to this year's The Sunday Times.

However, the research, by the Charities Aid Foundation and The Sunday Times, also found that the number of donors giving more than £1m a year had grown from 118 to 129 over the period.

Twenty-nine of the top 100 answered questions about their motivations for giving, and 89 per cent said they invested only in charities that could clearly demonstrate their impact.

Sixty-four per cent of those who responded to the questions said they were satisfied with the feedback they received from charities and 54 per cent said charities needed to improve their communications in order to meet their potential.

Jo Ensor, head of advisory at the Charities Aid Foundation, said: "There are many lessons here for charities that wish to interact with these philanthropists – notably, tailoring their communications and better demonstrating the impact of their work."