Survey reveals hospices are local charity of choice

Research by Santander reveals that hospices are the local charity of choice for those giving to good causes, with a fifth of those surveyed opting to donate to hospices over other types of charity.

Children's charities were chosen as a close second (18%), followed by health (14%) and animal (13%) charities.

Arts & culture, education and human rights seem to be less of a priority, each receiving only 1% of the share.

This trend is mirrored by the results from Santander's Community Chest, which resulted in £56,800 donated to 142 hospices across the country.

The charity scheme was launched to celebrate the rebrand of Abbey and Bradford & Bingley to Santander, and has seen £250,000 donated to charities selected by people visiting their local Santander branch.

The research also reveals that the economic downturn has had a long lasting impact on the amount that individuals are willing to give to charity.

Over a third (35%) of those surveyed claimed that they have reduced their charitable donations due to the downturn, and less than a tenth (9%) claimed that they are likely to increase the amount of money they give to charity as the economy starts to recover.

Christianne Carrick, community relations manager at Santander, commented: "Our results show that people are not yet ready to increase the amount they are donating to local charities.

"However, Santander's Community Chest has offered an easy way for people to make a real difference to the good causes in their area, while also giving hundreds of charities more recognition by the communities in which they are based."

Those giving to charity are motivated most frequently by a belief in a particular cause, with 59% claiming that this was their main reason.

Belief in a moral duty is also a strong impetus (19%), while it appears that people remain unconvinced by promotional activity (3%) and TV appeals (2%).

Men appear to have a stronger belief in a moral duty, with 22% citing this as a primary reason for giving to charity, compared to 16% for women. Women are more affected by personal experience (10%) than men (6%).