The Gentleman Magazine Issue 6 | December 2017 | Page 50

MAJOR PHILANTHROPISTS DONATE £15BN
TO CHARITABLE CAUSES OVER DECADE
10th anniversary of Coutts’ Million Pound Donors Report
reveals highest value and number of charitable donations
gifted in 2016 (£1.83bn donated via 355 gifts)
A total of almost £15bn in large £1m+ gifts has been donated
by individuals, foundations and corporations over the past
decade. This is broken down into 2,416 gifts and was distributed
among 913 different charitable organisations.
These are the findings of the 10 year anniversary of the Coutts
Million Pound Donors Report, produced in association with
the University of Kent, which tracks the number, size, source,
and destination of £1m+ donations. Designed to celebrate and
inspire philanthropy, the report also includes interviews with
major donors including Rory McIlroy, Sir Terence Conran, the
Coutts Foundation, Gordon Roddick, Liccy Dahl and Sir Paul
Ruddock.
Analysing key trends in major philanthropy over the past
ten years, the report shows that there has been a boom in
philanthropy since the financial crisis, with a record high of
£1.83bn donated in 2016, and the number of donations of
£1m+ is up by two-thirds over the decade. There has also been
a surge in corporate giving, with the total value of corporate
donations rising from just under £50m in 2006/7 to over
£500m in 2016 – an increase of over 900%. The total number of
donations of £1m or more from corporations has also risen by
282% (from 17 in 2006/7 to 65 in 2016).
London retains its position as the hub of major philanthropy
in the UK. However, the biggest and most consistent rise in the
total value of donations has been in the North East although
donations came from almost every region of the UK. Also,
the number of donations to UK based charities, from donors
located outside the UK has increased ten-fold since the report
began - from 3 to 30. The total value of these donations has
increased by over 2,500% - from £9.8m in 2006/7 to £263.5m
in 2016.

Lenka Setkova, Executive Director, Coutts Institute said:
“While mega-gifts (donations of £100m or more) tend to
attract the headlines, £1m is the most common donation.
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Giving exactly one million appears to be economically and
psychologically a significant figure, which resonates with both
donors and charities. Our report also shows that universities
received the highest number of donations of £1m or more
(600), while foundations received the highest total value at
£5bn. This reflects a trend we see at Coutts with an increasing
number of clients using our philanthropy services to establish
charitable trusts so that together with their family, they can
make a difference to the causes they care about.”

The research also shows that in 2016, while the number of
donations dipped to 310 (from 326 in the previous year), the
overall value increased by £70m due to the higher average
donation value and the higher than usual number of donations
over £25m. While a majority of donations came from London-
based f unders, Scotland, East Midlands, West Midlands and
North East saw the highest total value since the report began.

After a drop in donations in 2015, health as a sub sector bounced
back significantly in 2016 to receive almost double the amount
when compared to the previous year, with 27 donations with a
combined value of £94bn. Also of note were the ten donations
to the ‘Garden Bridge’ project in central London which was
controversially withdrawn.

Dr Beth Breeze from the Centre for Philanthropy at the
University of Kent, co-author of the UK report, commented:
"Philanthropy affects the lives of everyone because most people
give some money or time at least once a year, and because we
all benefit from the gifts of past and present donors. A better
understanding of the size, source and destination of the biggest
gifts is especially useful in a time when the role of philanthropy
is widely debated, and the label of ‘philanthropist’ prompts
cynicism and cheers in, at best, equal quantities.
We began this research project at a time when knowledge of
million pound donations was mostly anecdotal. Ten years
on we are proud to have created a strong base of knowledge
and insight into major donation motivation, which I hope
will inspire others to begin or accelerate their philanthropic
journey.”
, Security in Motion”