Total value of seven-figure donations falls

The number of charitable gifts over £1m has increased but the overall value of those donations has shrunk to its lowest level since 2007, according to a report released today.

Benefactors gave more than £1.2bn to UK charities in chunks of £1m or more in 2010/11, according to the report, from Coutts and the University of Kent, a drop from the pre-recession level of £1.6bn in 2006/07. The number of £1m donations has risen from 193 to 232 over the same period.

There's a wider spread in both million-pound donors, at 130 from 73 the previous year, and recipients, up from 154 to 191.

Higher education, arts and international development are the biggest draws for the big donations. Oxford and Cambridge universities and national arts and cultural institutions all received multimillion-pound donations. The most frequent size for a seven-figure contribution is exactly £1m, but more than half are worth £2m or more.