New research reveals that companies gave over £470 million in cash donations to charities and community groups, with total community contributions reaching almost £600 million.

However, compared with previous research the total value of cash donations fell by 9%, with community contributions declining by 27%.

The 9th edition of The Guide to UK Company Giving, published by the charity Directory of Social Change (DSC), examines the charitable giving and community support programmes of 550 companies, including many big household names such as Lloyds Banking Group (£43.8 million in cash donations); Tesco (£26.5 million); and Marks & Spencer (£9.1 million).

The overall drops in giving stand in contrast to staggering increases in pre-tax profits for those companies researched for the Guide over the same period.

In the previous edition DSC reported a collective pre-tax profit of £158.7 billion; this edition sees this figure increase to £245.8 billion – an increase in pre-tax profit of 55%.

Total cash donations stood at just 0.19% of pre-tax profit for 550 companies, with community contributions representing 0.24%.

However, a number of companies bucked the trend, and some, such as Thomas Cook Group and Clinton cards, actually maintained their charitable giving even though they posted a loss.

A number of companies also swam against the tide, giving a high percentage of community contributions in relation to their pre-tax profits.

For example: HESCO Bastion Ltd (44.8%); Avon Cosmetics (25.7%); Richer Sounds (19%); and Spar UK (13.9%).

This is obviously good news for corporate fundraisers and perhaps demonstrates that some companies pay more than just lip service to their corporate social responsibility principles.

Lead researcher for the Guide, Denise Lillya said: “There is much debate about the future of company giving and corporate philanthropy at the moment.

"There is a discernible narrative developing within policy circles around the notion that ‘traditional’ corporate giving of cash and in-kind is on the way out, with more companies moving towards partnerships and relationships with voluntary sector organisations based on shared social objectives.

“However, our research doesn’t suggest this is borne out in practice across the majority of companies that give, nor that it is what charities want.

"For many charities, cash will be the best tool for the job, and for many companies, cash will be the most available and appropriate resource to meet what they see as their social obligations.

"Cash and in-kind giving from companies remain a crucial part of the funding environment for charities. Far from being on the way out, it actually has huge potential for growth."

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