A new report has found that UK Catholics contribute around £2.9 billion annually to charitable causes. The Catholic Generosity Report by Catholics in Fundraising (CiF) found that Catholic charities fundraise “highly cost-effectively”, despite having, on average, eight fewer full-time fundraising staff members.

In aggregate, Catholic charities spend around 20 per cent of voluntary income on fundraising compared to 25 per cent for the largest UK charities. Dioceses, missionary organisations and international charities lead the way, raising around £9 for every £1 spent.

The sector’s almost £7 billion in assets were heavily concentrated among dioceses, religious orders, schools and grant-making trusts, with religious orders holding over a third of total funds and almost half of all long-term investments. Dioceses alone accounted for over half of all voluntary income, and the 10 largest Catholic charities made up more than a quarter of total income, meaning that the sector’s health rested upon a small number of large institutions.

While 17 of the charities studied ran major donor programmes, none received a personal gift of more than £1 million in the survey year, compared to three trust gifts at that level. The report said the findings suggested that institutional Catholic philanthropy operates at a larger scale than personal giving.

The report read: “Underpinning Catholic giving is one of the most developed moral traditions on wealth and generosity of any faith. Catholic Social Teaching treats wealth holders as stewards rather than owners and firmly links giving with investing.”

It cited the Vatican’s Mensuram Bonam, a faith-based measure for investors, as an example. The document introduced the term “integral investor”, one who uses investment to serve the common good.

However, the report found in interviews with wealthy Catholic donors that there was a “consistent gap between this tradition and actual behaviour”.

“Giving and investing are generally kept in separate compartments,” the report stated. “Donors express their faith through philanthropy but treat investment as a purely technical matter judged on financial returns, rarely applying Catholic principles to their portfolios.”

Catholic schools generated the largest share of total income, yet only about two per cent of voluntary income, relying on fees rather than donations. Catholic social welfare charities, such as hospices, homelessness organisations and social care providers, “raise less voluntary income than their scale might suggest given the Church’s social mission”.

Legacies accounted for around 12 per cent of voluntary income, which is below the wider UK average and the 32 per cent seen among the top 100 UK charities, even though they remain highly valuable to sectors such as hospices, missionary organisations and children’s charities.

John Green, chairman of Catholics in Fundraising said: "The Catholic Generosity Report provides, for the first time, a comprehensive picture of how generosity is expressed across the Catholic community in the United Kingdom.”

He said the report demonstrates “the remarkable contribution that Catholics make through giving, volunteering, investment and charitable service, while also identifying significant opportunities for future growth”.

“At a time when many charities face increasing demands and financial pressures, the report offers both encouragement and a challenge: encouragement because Catholic generosity remains strong and deeply rooted in our faith tradition, and a challenge because there remains considerable untapped potential for greater philanthropy, legacy giving and collaboration across the sector.

"We hope this research will stimulate discussion, inform decision-making and inspire renewed commitment to stewardship for the common good."

Approximately 5 million people identify as Catholic in England and Wales, alongside 760,000 in Scotland and 805,000 in Northern Ireland. The 2021 Census in Northern Ireland found that Catholics were the largest single religious group for the first time since partition.

The practising Catholic community has a younger profile than Christians overall, as around 44 per cent of Catholics are aged between 18 and 44. It found that the Catholic population has remained stable over recent decades, but the demographics have shifted to a more diverse practising population.