The proportion of income that people gave to good causes dropped last year, research has found.

During 2025 people donated 0.9% of their income to charity on average, down from 1.1% in 2024.

The Charities Aid Foundation’s latest Local Giving Report also found that while higher income areas are likely to have more donors and generate larger donation totals, they rank much lower than less affluent areas in terms of percentage of income given.

The most generous are the residents of Sheffield Hallam, who donated 1.6% of their earnings to good causes.

But while Kensington & Bayswater donated the most between them an estimated £41.7 million, this “equates to just 0.29% of the average income in that area” said CAF.

The disparity in local giving among people in affluent and poorer areas of the UK mirrors global findings of CAF’s World Giving Report, released last year. This found that those in low-income countries gave away an average of 1.45% of their income to charity, compared to 0.7% among those in higher income countries.

Donor hotspots revealed

The research by CAF also found the top ten donor hotspots in terms of the number of residents donating to charity.

In North East Hampshire just under seven in ten residents gave to good causes last year to put them in first place.

In second place in Harpenden and Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, where almost seven in ten give to charity.

Also in the top ten are the Surrey areas of Farnham and Bordon, Esher and Walton, and Epsom and Ewell.

North Somerset, Oxfordshire’s Henley and Thame, Mid Dunbartonshire in the Glasgow area, Tatton in Cheshire and Wetherby and Easingwold in North Yorkshire, also feature.

At least two thirds of residents in all areas in the top ten gave to good causes last year, considerably higher than the UK average of 55% of people who donated.

Places with the fewest donors are in the North East, South Yorkshire, Birmingham and the East Midlands.

CAF says places with the most donors “tend to be older and wealthier”.

Its report found that the British public donated £14 billion in 202, with a third of all donations originating from London and the South East of England.

More opportunities needed

One in six people told researchers that they want to see more opportunities in their area to engage with their local community, with demand highest in urban areas.

Less than two in five say they engaged with their community last year and just over half say they felt a sense of local pride.

Birmingham Ladywood, Manchester Rusholme, and Liverpool Riverside are the areas with the highest number of residents saying they are keen for more opportunities to connect.

“Those who want to engage tend to be younger, educated renters in cities, but cite their main barriers are a lack of time, uncertainty about where to begin, and not knowing others to participate with,” said CAF.

Its managing director Mark Greer added: “When we are facing a sustained trend of declining donations, part of the solution to unlocking greater giving lies in understanding the power of place and community.

“It might seem obvious, but places matter to people. This report shows that when people are engaged in a local area, they tend to give more. It tells us that the people in areas with low levels of engagement and giving aren’t disinterested – they need and want more opportunities.

“We need targeted investment and collaboration from government, philanthropists and businesses to revitalise local cultures of giving and encourage community connections helping to strengthen charities and the places they support, for the future.”

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