A record £702m was paid out to charities through the Charities Aid Foundation last year, the organisation’s annual report shows.
Despite concerns about Brexit, a general election and the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, the amount paid out to charities in the UK and 110 other countries around the world rose by £56m in the year to the end of April 2020 compared with the previous year, the report says.
CAF provides services including banking, investment and payroll-giving services for charities, but also distributes money on behalf of major donors and conducts research into charitable giving.
The organisation also received a record amount from donors – £714m, an increase of 15 per cent on 2018/19.
Its US arm experienced notable growth, with donations received more than doubling from £91.2m in 2018/19 to £205.4m in 2019/20.
CAF Bank committed £138.7m, up from £105.9m the previous year.
The organisation’s quick-response Coronavirus Emergency Fund – which opened on 30 March with the aim of giving out £5m, and had to close after less than a week having received applications worth more than £40m – ultimately paid almost £6.5m to more than 1,250 small UK charities, the report says.
Meanwhile, donations to CAF Charitable Trusts grew by £6.4m over the year to £177.3m and its online donation service, CAF Donate, processed a record £34.2m for charities.
Sir John Low, chief executive of CAF, said: “At CAF, we are proud to have facilitated the distribution of those vital funds to so many good causes around the world, especially as many now find themselves in such challenging straits.
“The numbers in this year’s annual report translate into tangible, vital support for the millions of people who rely on the work of charities.
“The months and indeed years ahead will not be easy ones for both charities and the people they support, but the willingness to give detailed in this year’s report provide a sense of hope that we will be able to recover, rebuild and thrive once again.”