This was comprised of 2,416 gifts and was distributed among 913 different charitable organisations.
The findings mark the 10 year anniversary of the Coutts Million Pound Donors Report which is produced in association with the University of Kent. This tracks the number, size, source and destination of £1m+ donations and is designed to “celebrate and inspire” philanthropy.
The report also includes interviews with major donors including Rory McIlroy, Sir Terence Conran, the Coutts Foundation, Gordon Roddick, Liccy Dahl and Sir Paul Ruddock.
In an unexpected trend, the report says that there has been a boom in philanthropy since the financial crisis, with a record high of £1.83bn donated in 2016 and the number of donations of £1m+ is up by two-thirds over the decade.
There has also been a surge in corporate giving, with the total value of corporate donations rising from just under £50m in 2006/7 to over £500m in 2016 – an increase of over 900%. The total number of donations of £1m or more from corporations has also risen by 282% (from 17 in 2006/7 to 65 in 2016).
London retains its position as the hub of “major philanthropy” in the UK. However, the biggest and most consistent rise in the total value of donations has been in the North East.
Lenka Setkova, executive director, Coutts Institute said: “While mega-gifts (donations of £100m or more) tend to attract the headlines, £1m is the most common donation.
“Giving exactly one million appears to be economically and psychologically a significant figure, which resonates with both donors and charities. Our report also shows that universities received the highest number of donations of £1m or more (600), while foundations received the highest total value at £5bn.
“This reflects a trend we see at Coutts with an increasing number of clients using our philanthropy services to establish charitable trusts so that together with their family, they can make a difference to the causes they care about.”