Sharp fall in value of major donations to the arts

Arts and culture is the third most popular destination for charitable giving by major donors, behind only Higher Education and International Development, but the total value of major gifts to the arts is falling, according to latest study of major philanthropists. Research conducted by Coutts Bank in collaboration with Centre for Philanthropy, Humanitarianism and Social Justice at the University of Kent has found that 21 donations of over £1m, worth a total of £60m, went to the cultural sector in 2009/10. However, this is a significant drop from the previous year, when 24 donations generated £125m for the arts. In stark contrast, the value of donations for International Development work increased from £53m to £142m over the same period, and the number of donors grew from 16 to 25.

In the UK as a whole, the value of ‘million pound donations’ (MPDs) has fallen by nearly 20% since 2006/7. 174 separate donations worth £1m or more were made in 2009/10 to UK-based charities. The total value of these donations was £1.3bn – a fall of £236m on the previous year, and significantly lower than 2006/7, when 193 MPDs were made, with a combined value of £1.6bn. High-net-worth individuals remain the most significant source of these biggest gifts, contributing £782m, or 60% of the total.

This is the fourth year that annual figures on major philanthropic donations have been reported by Coutts, which was the first private bank in the UK to establish a dedicated philanthropy advisory team. The authors of this report note that “these figures are consistent with other studies in both the UK and the US, and reflect the general sentiment of nervousness in the economy, and falls in wealth that followed the banking crisis in 2008.” The report also highlights trends among major philanthropists, including a growing interest in ‘local philanthropy’, and more donors adopting a more structured approach to their giving to achieve greater impact.