Our latest corporate giving research highlights charitable giving by FTSE 100 companies has dropped by 26% in a decade.
We’ve just published the fourth edition of the CAF Corporate giving by the FTSE 100 report, the first report since 2018, which shows that companies gave £1.85 billion to charities last year, significantly less than the £2.51 billion they gave a decade ago. Considering increases in inflation during this period, this represents an even more dramatic cut to crucial charitable funding in real terms.
The report shows that the total amount donated in 2022 is the same as in 2016 -when the analysis was last carried out- while the combined profits of the FTSE 100 have trebled over the same period. The number of companies donating the sum equivalent to at least 1% of their pre-tax profits has also stayed roughly constant; 24 companies gave 1% or more last year, compared to 26 in 2016.
Having endured a pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and energy crisis, as well as rising inflation, charities providing support to communities may have missed out on vital funding. If the companies in the FTSE 100 had continued to donate the same proportion of pre-tax profits that they did in 2016, the charity sector would have received an additional £3.74 billion of funding.
There is clear demand from consumers and employees for action. More than two-thirds (69%) of the public believe businesses have an obligation to support the local communities in which they operate and 70% believe businesses should be more open and transparent about their charitable donations. Yet since 2013, businesses have not been compelled to report on their community investment and philanthropy in company annual reports.
Neil Heslop OBE, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation commented:
“The role of FTSE 100 businesses in leading a purposeful corporate culture is vital. It is brilliant that a quarter of the UK’s top hundred listed companies are setting an example by committing to the best practice of donating 1% to good causes. But more can and should be done, especially now as household incomes are squeezed and charity finances are strained due to the cost-of-living crisis.
A resilient civil society requires charities, the private sector and government to all play a role. That is why we urgently need the Government to draw up a national strategy on philanthropy and charitable giving to mobilise effort by businesses and all of us.”
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