The amount donated to charities on Giving Tuesday was up by almost half this year, despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on in-person events, new figures indicate.
The payments company Visa said that £20.2m was donated using its platform on 1 December this year, a 42 per cent increase on the equivalent figures last year.
This year’s figure equates to £14,000 a minute being raised for UK good causes. This is a significant rise on the £6,250 raised per minute on the same day in 2015.
Covid-19 restrictions across the UK meant it was much harder for participants to conduct in-person fundraising activities this year.
The annual Big Give Christmas Challenge, which was also launched on Giving Tuesday, raised more than £7m, which was a 43 per cent increase on last year, the Charities Aid Foundation said.
CAF’s Gráinne Mathews, Giving Tuesday lead in the UK, said: “In a year when charities have faced a steep increase in demand for their services and more than half have suffered a drop in donations, Giving Tuesday was a desperately needed opportunity not only to raise vital funds, but to talk about their important work.”
Giving Tuesday was launched in the US in 2012 with the aim of combating the materialism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It was launched by CAF in the UK in 2014.