Charities look set to suffer a sharp fall in the donations they receive from businesses.
A poll of 450 businesses, carried out on behalf of the Social Investment Consultancy, found that corporate giving looks likely to decline by 34 per cent this year.
Of the firms that responded, six out of ten said that they expected to cut their charity donation budgets, while 83 per cent believed that reducing corporate giving was ‘a necessity’ during the downturn.
As well as reducing the overall sums given to charities, nearly half of businesses reported that they anticipated paring back on the number of good causes they support this year.
The cost to the UK’s charities could be as high as £500 million.
However, 80 per cent of respondents thought that cuts in charity budgets could be compensated for in other ways, such as helping staff volunteering, offering the use of their facilities or donating gifts in kind.
Jake Hayman, the chief executive of the Social Investment Consultancy, said: “These cutbacks will either expose corporations as fair-weather donors, or it could mean they apply themselves to develop more innovative ways of supporting communities.
“The truth is, there are plenty of things companies can do to maintain strong partnerships with good causes that can build rather than hit the bottom line.”
