The proportion of people who gave to animal welfare and disability charities fell last month as people lent their support to hospitals and hospices, new research shows.
Polling by the Charities Aid Foundation carried out between 20 and 23 April showed that the proportion of people who said they had donated to hospitals and hospices in the past month was up to 35 per cent from 22 per cent in the previous month.
But it showed that the proportion of those who had donated to animal welfare charities was down by eight percentage points to 23 per cent and of those who had given to disability charities had almost halved to 8 per cent.
Support for medical research charities also fell by seven percentage points on the previous month to 19 per cent.
Pollsters found, however, that despite the turmoil and uncertainty in the UK economy caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, the proportion of people who said they had donated to charity in the past four weeks was up by four percentage points over the course of the month to 34 per cent.
The results were drawn from a representative online survey of more than 1,100 adults.
Ben Russell, director of policy at CAF, said: “The British people continue to demonstrate the UK’s history of remarkable generosity, and these figures are no exception.
“The willingness to help the dedicated NHS staff and the charities that support them shows the open-heartedness and care the country feels towards people in great need and an inherent desire to stand with those on the front lines.
“As we recover from this crisis, we will also need to think about how we maintain the tens of thousands of other charities working on so many issues that make a difference to all our lives, because we’ll need them more than ever.”