People in the North East give the highest proportion of their income to charitable causes out of any region of the United Kingdom, according to analysis by Centre for Cities, which also found that some of the least affluent UK cities donate more to charity per head than wealthier places.

Its new report, Donation nation: The Geography of Charitable Giving in the UK, supported by a grant from Charities Aid Foundation, looks at the relationship between local economies and people’s willingness to donate to charity in cities and large towns, discovering stark differences in generosity across the UK.

Comparing places with similar average incomes reveals people in the North of England are more likely to donate to charity than those living in the South. Residents of the northern suburbs of Leeds are twice as likely (16 per cent) to donate to charity as residents of Croydon in South London (eight per cent) – two places where median incomes are £26,000.

The North East is the most generous with its earnings: residents in Middlesbrough give double the proportion of their income to charity (1.2 per cent) compared to those living in London’s wealthy Chelsea & Fulham borough (0.6 per cent).

But income is still the most important factor determining the values donated to charity. Centre for Cities’ analysis shows that, while poor places give a high share of earnings, the amounts they give are smaller in absolute terms because earnings are lower than in the most affluent places.

Centre for Cities’ analysis also found donors in more deprived parts of the UK tend not to give to charities tackling local causes such as economic deprivation, further constraining charities targeting local needs.

Donation nation also reveals:

• The North East has the highest rate of support for local causes, with 46 per cent of the value of donations, or £88 per head, supporting local action, while Yorkshire, the West Midlands and Wales, parts of the country with above average deprivation, give the lowest amounts per donor to local causes – less than £75 per donor.
• ‘Giving gaps’ exist in parts of the Greater South East of England, where people are less likely to donate than people in the same income bracket elsewhere in the UK.
• The location of charities specifically focused on local economic needs is unconnected to places where deprivation is highest giving London and other places in the Greater South East greater representation in the charity sector than places with higher income deprivation levels such as Blackpool and Middlesbrough.

Centre for Cities recommends a more active role for local authorities in targeting local charitable donations at local needs. The idea of a broad local fund such as the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, first launched by the Mayor of Greater Manchester and now an independent charity that raises funds locally, has proved a popular way of galvanising local giving to address local issues. In a survey commissioned for the report, 56 per cent of people said a similar fund in their area would encourage them to give more to local causes. This approach could be more widely adopted to bridge the gap between the causes people donate to and local deprivation, particularly in Yorkshire, the West Midlands and Wales.

It also recommends ‘Levelling Up Charity Partnerships’ between national and local charities, applying their combined knowledge and resources to reach deprived people in areas where local people are less able to donate to charity.

Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, said:

“The mismatch between local ability to give and local economic needs from place to place is well known. The charities sector recognises that it can’t always reach the most deprived parts of the UK, particularly as resources have been squeezed over the last decade.

“The ability to donate and get involved is ultimately related to income so, to address it, we need economic growth and income growth everywhere. This would give everyone the increased chance to give to local causes.

“More can also be made of the donations that are given – from a levelling up perspective – by channelling a greater share of them to local issues related to economic deprivation. Local authorities, by raising awareness and helping to direct giving, can help people living in an area target their generosity towards issues where their help is needed most. In places where opportunities to volunteer time or give money are limited, this can make a big difference.”