The UK’s largest businesses are giving less to charity despite making record profits, the Charities Aid Foundation’s latest Corporate Giving Report has found.
The report says total donations by FTSE 100 companies dropped to £1.69bn in 2025 compared with £1.85bn in 2024.
This is despite pre-tax profits among FTSE 100 companies reaching a record high of £212bn in 2025, up 10.7 per cent on the 2024 figure.
FTSE 100 companies donated 0.8 per cent of their pre-tax profits in 2025, half of the 1.7 per cent they donated in 2009, the report found.
“Inflation has exacerbated the decline further,” CAF said.
“To have kept up with inflation since 2009, donations would need to be 76 per cent higher than current levels.
“Since 2022, when inflation peaked, it is estimated that charities have lost out on around £4bn in real terms.
“CAF, which helps businesses and individuals give more impactfully, found that most companies in the wider business community do not give, despite employees and consumers wanting them to do more.”
A CAF survey of more than 1,000 British businesses, conducted between 1 and 16 April, found that slightly more than a quarter (27 per cent) support charities in any way, with 17 per cent giving cash, the report found.
Almost one-fifth (18 per cent) of businesses that do not give said they did not have enough budget, while 57 per cent said they had not considered it or did not see the benefit.
The report says two-thirds of employees say they would like their employer to give to charity, and three quarters of consumers feel more favourable to businesses they can see doing good in their local areas.
Mark Greer, managing director of the Charities Aid Foundation, said: “In 2009, when businesses were navigating a global financial crisis, they continued to give generously.
“Today it seems too many organisations, including many of the largest companies, are reducing budgets, withholding data or failing to recognise the role business can play in supporting society.
“When leaders put giving on the agenda, it becomes part of business strategy, culture and long-term planning, rather than something considered only when circumstances allow.”
Greer said “substantial” opportunities could be created from more donations.
“Had every FTSE 100 company met best practice and donated 1 per cent of profits last year, charities would have received around £1bn more in funding, contributing to a stronger society that benefits businesses and the people in them,” Greer said.
“Government has its role in shaping a stronger culture of giving.
“But at a time when charities are experiencing declining donations and rising demand, it has never been more important for business leaders to step up and play their part.”