40% of Brits stop charity donations to save money

Approximately two-fifths of British people have elected to stop making charitable donations in an effort to save money amid the recession, according to a new survey.

Insurance firm Diamond published the results of its study today to coincide with Volunteers Week (June 1st-7th), revealing that 40 per cent have cited the credit crunch as the reason for why they no longer give money to charity.

This appears to have led to an increase in the number of people carrying out volunteer work, with 28 per cent offering their services for free in place of the donations they would normally send.

“For many people who are struggling financially, volunteering does seem to be an alternative to donating money to charities and causes and there’s plenty of opportunities to volunteer out there,” remarked Nic Weng Kan, head of operations at Diamond.

In April, Norwich Union unveiled figures showing that 28 per cent of people are looking to save money by purchasing items from charity shops or online auctions, with 35 per cent focusing on debt management.

By Chris Trimble