Charity donations increased by almost a third (32%) during the week following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The crisis, which has displaced millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russian bombardment, has led to a “wave of charitability” across the UK, according to latest figures from consultancy About Loyalty.

Its weekly public research recorded an increase from 9.3m to 12.3m giving to charity following the invasion. This is the highest number of people giving since the consultancy tracked public sentiment to giving two years ago.

“We have all been deeply moved by the harrowing images and stories coming out of Ukraine on a daily basis,” said About Loyalty director Richard Spencer.

“The crisis has catalysed a wave of charitability across the UK. We’ve seen more solidarity and increases in altruism and empathy and a surge in charity donations in direct response to the war and the many appeals for support to help the people of Ukraine.”

The crisis has created a “halo effect” for all charities to benefit from a surge in giving, not just those offering international aid to refugees and those impacted by conflict, said About Loyalty.

“Most charity fundraising programmes are likely to benefit from the heightened
solidarity and the simple fact that more people are giving to charity," it said.

“This will be reinforced and underpinned by the steady increases that we’ve seen in altriuism, empathy and solidarity more generally.”

Among charities directly involved in supporting victims of the Ukrainian conflict are those involved in crisis coalition Disasters Emergency Committee.

This has raised £175m since it launched its Ukrainian appeal earlier this month. This includes £25m in match funding from the UK government. The campaign raised more than £100m in its first four days.

THANK YOU!

The response so far to our appeal has been absolutely incredible. Thanks to your generosity, DEC members are providing essential aid right now.

This includes shelter and food, medicine, and child and age-friendly spaces where people can access trauma care. pic.twitter.com/QRuQlP8473

— DEC (@decappeal) March 16, 2022

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of UK residents have expressed an interest in sponsoring and offering a home to Ukrainian refugees through the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme.

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