Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) figures show that business charitable giving totalled £4.26bn in 2024. FTSE 100 companies gave £1.82bn, other businesses £2.2bn, and the smallest firms gave £206m.
Despite this, 75% of companies undertook no charitable activity. Around a third said they had not considered giving, 28% said it was not a current priority, and 23% cited budget constraints.
GSK led FTSE donors with £363m, about 5% of profits. Tesco donated £143m, up £30m year on year, followed by Anglo American (£117m), HSBC (£105m) and Shell (£101m). Tesco and Sainsbury’s each gave at least 1% of pre-tax profits over the past three years.
CAF estimates that if all FTSE 100 firms and a quarter of wider UK businesses adopted a 1% benchmark, total giving could reach £9.06bn. Of 95 FTSE 100 reporters, two recorded no giving.
Cash now accounts for 56% of support, down from 62% last year. CAF estimates a £300m fall in wider business cash giving in 2024 and a £100m decline among FTSE 100 companies. Volunteering reached 2.11 million hours, led by Standard Chartered with 609,008 hours. CAF also urged the Government to reinstate mandatory reporting, which was removed after the introduction of the Companies Act 2006.
“Corporate giving is not an optional extra. It is a cornerstone of responsible business that employees and customers expect,” said Neil Heslop OBE, chief executive, Charities Aid Foundation. “At a time when charities continue to face severe funding challenges, our research reveals that most British businesses are disengaged from meaningful community investment.”
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