A survey has revealed that charity donations fell by 10% during 2009 as the public reacted to the recession.

Around 71% of people said they gave money to a good cause during the year, donating an average of £110.20 each, according to Investec Private Bank.

Londoners donated an average of £175.

But one in five people said they had reduced the amount they gave compared with 2008, while only 11% of people claimed they had increased their donations.

Investec estimated that a total of £5.32bn was donated to charities during the year, £574m less than in 2008.

Investec said the fall in income was likely to have been made worse for charities because of the low returns they are receiving on the money they hold in deposit accounts. Charities typically hold around 15% of their assets in cash.

Jack Jones, of Investec Private Bank, said: "Charities, like many other sectors, have suffered through the recession and a drop in donations can adversely affect the good work that they are doing.

"To compound this problem, many of the deposit accounts targeted at them are offering dreadful interest rates so it is important that they shop around for accounts that are going to pay them a consistently attractive return."

The research found that nearly a fifth of the money charities received during 2009 was donated in December, and 8% of people who gave money to a good cause during 2009 made all of their donations during this month.

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