Scots more likely to donate to charity or volunteer time than rest of UK

SCOTS are the most generous people in the UK, according to a detailed analysis of their support for charities.

The first annual Scottish report by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) found that Scots are more likely to donate money to charity in the past year, volunteer their time, donate goods to charity and sponsor a friend or colleague than people across the UK.

Overall, people living in Scotland donated £813 million to charity last year, the survey found.

This represents 8.4% of the £9.7 billion donated to charity across the UK, with Scotland accounting for 8.2% of the population.

The CAF report, entitled Scotland Giving 2017, is based on a monthly tracking survey by polling firm YouGov.

It revealed around one in five Scots volunteered their time in the last year, and this is higher among women than men.

Nearly 60% gave goods to a charity shop or other good cause and more than half (56%) signed a petition.

Two thirds (65%) of people in Scotland donated money to charity in the last year, with November being the peak month due to a number of national fundraising campaigns.

Medical research was the most popular cause, followed by animal welfare, children and young people and disaster relief.

The report also found that 94% of 16-24 year olds reported they had done some form of charitable activity in the preceding year, higher than the UK average of 89%.

The publication stated: “Although there are many similarities between giving in Scotland and giving in the UK as a whole, there are some clear differences in attitudes and forms of engagement that are reflective of the culture of giving that is so deeply embedded within Scotland.”

Susan Pinkney, head of research at the CAF, said: “This important new research confirms that Scots are incredibly generous and dedicated to supporting the causes they care about.

“However you look at it, Scotland performs incredibly well and this shows the amazing culture of giving we have here in Scotland, of which we should all be very proud.”

The report was based on 1,000 interviews conducted online across the UK each month from May to December last year, with around 80 interviews conducted each month in Scotland.