The wealthiest Britons are more likely to spend more on a takeaway coffee than a charity donation, the head of the Charity Commission has claimed.
Orlando Fraser said the wealthiest were not “pulling their weight” when it came to supporting good causes. He has called for the top earners to “dig a little deeper” and give more, reports The Telegraph.
He said it was “worrying” that the donations coming from the top earners had declined, even though their collective income had increased. Research says the earnings of the top 1% have grown by around 10% over the past decade.
At the same time, the donations coming from them have dropped by over 20%. Fraser said a 2021 report by the charity Pro Bono Economics “estimated that the average monthly sum donated by the very rich was £48”.
He said: “A good deal less, I would venture, than many within this income bracket spend on takeaway coffees each month.”
Fraser claimed while the richest are giving less, ordinary people are now giving more. Figures from the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) World Giving Index said the UK is the world’s third most generous nation – with 71% of people regularly giving.
The CAF estimated Brits gave £12.7 billion in 2022. Fraser continued: “The top 1% here seem to give less than their counterparts in comparable, equivalent societies, such as New Zealand and Canada.”
Fraser’s comments came during a lecture at the University of Kent. The occasion honoured Dame Stephanie Shirley, a businesswoman and philanthropist who gave away more than £67 million of her own money.
Fraser said “giving – certainly among the top 1% of earners in our society – is also a moral imperative and, increasingly, a societal necessity”.
He added there was an “urgent need” for more cash into the charity sector, especially as the cost of living crisis continues to bite. It comes at a time when the overall income of the third sector dropped for the first time in a decade.
More people are however turning to charities for help. CAF research earlier this year revealed more than 40% of charities said they could not help more people, with 12% now turning people away.
Fraser did however say some recognisable people were considered “great role models”. Among them were grime artist Stormzy and the Rausing family, best known for Tetra Pak.
