CSR & Philanthropy Under Scrutiny

Sector Trends June 2025
A note from our Patronage Director, Priya Maya Kumari.

UK charitable giving is becoming more focused.

According to the latest Charities Aid Foundation UK Giving Report, while the total donated reached £15.4 billion in 2024, just 50 % of adults gave, down from 58 % in 2019 - an estimated 4 million fewer donors. This suggests that fewer people are giving, but those who do are giving more and doing so more deliberately.

At the same time, corporate social responsibility has entered the realm of regulation. The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive now obliges almost 50,000 companies to disclose environmental and social impacts on par with financial data by 2025.

In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority’s anti-greenwashing rules, effective from 31 May 2024, empower the regulator to fine businesses for misleading sustainability claims.

CSR was never meant to be a marketing function. It now requires credibility, evidence and accountability. And the questions being asked are changing.

The most credible work in this space is happening quietly, with structure behind it. If your programme wouldn’t withstand scrutiny tomorrow, now is the time to get ahead.

Priya Maya Kumari, Director of Patronage