Major Gifts to UK Charities and Universities

Who gives £1 million or more, and where it goes

Since the Coutts Million Pound Donor Report stopped being published almost a decade ago, there has been very little data on the biggest gifts to UK charities and universities.

The Major Gifts to UK Charities and Universities Report pulls together public announcements, audited charity accounts and 360Giving grants data. It documents 569 gifts of £1 million or more from named individuals and foundations between 2019 and 2026, worth £3.3bn in total.

For charity leaders planning a major giving strategy, it shows which organisations are securing gifts at this level and who is making them.

What the data shows

The latest evidence points to a fundraising market under pressure, with significant differences between channels and cause areas.

Individual giving has fallen. The donor base continues to contract. Legacy income remains a major source of income for many charities. Meanwhile, lotteries, mass-participation events, major gifts and faith-based giving are creating opportunities, often concentrated among particular organisations and audiences.

The headline figures only tell part of the story. The report brings the evidence together to help make sense of the bigger picture.

What the report covers

• Annual giving from 2019 to 2026, by donor type.

• The top named individual donors and foundations.

• Higher education and the concentration of gifts at Oxford and Cambridge.

• Giving across 15 cause areas.

• Health and NHS charities, including the 2020 COVID-19 response.

• Arts and heritage.

• How giving is spread across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

• What the findings mean for fundraisers.

The report covers lifetime giving only. Bequests, Wellcome Trust research grants and Postcode Lottery distributions are excluded. Anonymous gifts are counted in the totals but not named.