Ukraine crisis prompts surge in giving across charity sector

Charity donations increased by almost a third (32%) during the week following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The crisis, which has displaced millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russian bombardment, has led to a “wave of charitability” across the UK, according to latest figures from consultancy About Loyalty.

Its weekly public research recorded an increase from 9.3m to 12.3m giving to charity following the invasion. This is the highest number of people giving since the consultancy tracked public sentiment to giving two years ago.

“We have all been deeply moved by the harrowing images and stories coming out of Ukraine on a daily basis,” said About Loyalty director Richard Spencer.

“The crisis has catalysed a wave of charitability across the UK. We’ve seen more solidarity and increases in altruism and empathy and a surge in charity donations in direct response to the war and the many appeals for support to help the people of Ukraine.”

The crisis has created a “halo effect” for all charities to benefit from a surge in giving, not just those offering international aid to refugees and those impacted by conflict, said About Loyalty.

“Most charity fundraising programmes are likely to benefit from the heightened
solidarity and the simple fact that more people are giving to charity," it said.

“This will be reinforced and underpinned by the steady increases that we’ve seen in altriuism, empathy and solidarity more generally.”

Among charities directly involved in supporting victims of the Ukrainian conflict are those involved in crisis coalition Disasters Emergency Committee.

This has raised £175m since it launched its Ukrainian appeal earlier this month. This includes £25m in match funding from the UK government. The campaign raised more than £100m in its first four days.



Meanwhile, tens of thousands of UK residents have expressed an interest in sponsoring and offering a home to Ukrainian refugees through the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme.

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


Charity Times video Q&A: In conversation with Hilda Hayo, CEO of Dementia UK
Charity Times editor, Lauren Weymouth, is joined by Dementia UK CEO, Hilda Hayo to discuss why the charity receives such high workplace satisfaction results, what a positive working culture looks like and the importance of lived experience among staff. The pair talk about challenges facing the charity, the impact felt by the pandemic and how it's striving to overcome obstacles and continue to be a highly impactful organisation for anybody affected by dementia.
Charity Times Awards 2023

Mitigating risk and reducing claims
The cost-of-living crisis is impacting charities in a number of ways, including the risks they take. Endsleigh Insurance’s* senior risk management consultant Scott Crichton joins Charity Times to discuss the ramifications of prioritising certain types of risk over others, the financial implications risk can have if not managed properly, and tips for charities to help manage those risks.

* Coming soon… Howden, the new name for Endsleigh.