New report says Jewish charities generate £1billion a year

Jewish charities are among the top money-raisers in their field, according to a new report.

A survey by the think tank New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) reveals that faith-based charities raise £16bn a year, and account for almost half of all human-rights and overseas-development fundraising.

The report, Faith Matters, says that, of the £16bn figure, Jewish organisations raise about £1bn a year, second only to Christian groups, which account for £11.2bn.

Muslim charities raise £542m a year, Quakers £104m, Hindus £83.2m, Sikhs £61m and Buddhists £48m, the report says, with multi-faith charities bringing in £7.5m annually.

The remaining £3.3bn goes to other organisations that have religious objects but for which NPC could not determine the faith involved.

The report, based on analysis of Charity Commission data, says the most common cause for faith-based charities is education and training.

But the cause areas in which the largest proportion of religious charities are involved are overseas aid, in which 49 per cent of all charities are faith-based, and human rights, of which 45 per cent are faith-based.

The report says that the majority of multi-faith charities and Muslim charities are 10 years old or younger.

By contrast, 21 per cent of Quaker charities and 10 per cent of Christian charities are more than 50 years old, the report says.

It says that charities with annual incomes of more than £1m account for approximately 73 per cent of Jewish charity income.

For Christian groups, the figure is 81 per cent, 45 per cent for Sikh charities, 55 per cent for Hindu charities, 49 per cent for Buddhist charities, 66 per cent for Muslim charities and 85 per cent for Quaker charities.

Rachel Wharton, policy and development officer at NPC and one of the report’s authors, said there were some surprises in the data.

“Some causes rely hugely on faith charities: nearly half the voluntary organisations protecting human rights and helping overseas development have religious roots,” she said.

“This is essential work that reaches vulnerable people across the globe. Without faith charities, that help would be in much smaller supply.”