Charities are continuing to feel the pinch of the recession, according to a new survey claiming the amount of money people donate to charity fell by nearly ten per cent during the first half of this year.

Around 23 per cent of people admitted to donating less money to charity during the six months before the end of June than in the same period of 2009, with only ten per cent saying they increased the amount they gave.

A quarter of people didn’t give any money to charity during the first six months of the year, while 48 per cent gave up to £50, according to Investec Bank.

Among those who reduced their donations, six per cent gave nothing at all and five per cent more than halved the amount they handed over. Donations in Yorkshire fell by almost 12 per cent.

Jack Jones of Investec Bank said: “Our findings suggest that in this age of austerity, charities are suffering from falling donations as people have less money. On top of this, many of the cash accounts targeted at them are paying derisory rates of returns.”

When money is tight, people are likely to be more selective about the charities they donate to, and this often hits animal charities the hardest.

Sara Atkinson, founder of Haworth Cat Rescue, says donations have fallen this year. “We’re getting more requests to take in cats, but fewer donations,” she says.

“The recession has definitely affected the amount of donations we receive. Medical and educational charities are getting the support, while charities like ours get pushed further down the pile. “People adopting cats are wanting to donate less than they did a year ago. We’re trying to encourage standing orders for £1 or £2 a month, which is affordable for many people. If a hundred people a month did that, it would give us a boost. We get people saying, ‘I’ll give you some money if I win the Lottery,’ but we’d rather they donated £1 month.”

As well as suffering a drop in financial support, the charity, which rescues and re-homes cats, has been inundated with pets people can’t afford to keep. “We’ve taken in 250 cats this year; a figure we wouldn’t normally expect to reach until later in the year,” says Sara. “We normally take between 350 and 400 in a whole year, but this year we may reach the 500 mark.”

Baby charity Tommy’s, which has a branch in Bradford funding research into pregnancy complications such as miscarriage, premature and stillbirth, and providing information for parents-to-be, has also suffered a drop in donations. Chief executive Jane Brewin says: “Tommy’s income has fallen by more than ten per cent during the recession, mostly due to donors who are heavily-invested in the stock market – however, we’ve been more fortunate than most. People’s generosity has been amazingly resilient, which we have found both inspiring and humbling.

“Of course, a recession doesn’t lessen the number of parents who are affected by the loss of their baby during pregnancy or at birth, and demand for our services is as strong as ever.”

The Bradford Food Bank, which distributes food parcels districtwide to families and individuals in need, is low on donations and volunteers have had to buy food themselves.

Founder Lashman Singh says: “People who are feeling the effects of these hard times aren’t giving as much as maybe they would normally.

“Supplies of food are drying up, yet we have seen an increase in applications for food parcels. These are desperate times for a lot of people out there.”

Age Concern is launching a new fundraising drive in a bid to boost dwindling funds.

“Donations and funding has gone down and we’re actively looking to fundraise now on a scale not done before,” says spokeswoman Jo Shepherd. “We’re setting up a website encouraging people to donate and take part in community fundraising.”

It’s better news at the Keighley and District Association for the Blind, where donations have remained steady. “Our street and store collections are about the same,” says chief executive Kevin Baldwin. “We’re partly funded by investment income and that has been hit, but as far as donations from the public are concerned, we’ve found people to be as generous as ever.”