BARCELONA — In 2016/17, the United Kingdom’s charitable foundations spent over £4.5 billion ($5.6 billion), according to the "Foundation Giving Trends 2018" report. While these family trusts, philanthropic ventures, and grant-making institutions widely distributed their funds across a range of issues within the U.K. and abroad, mainly via grants, a substantial amount focused on development issues such as education, health, and economic growth.
Although geo-political uncertainty, fluctuating exchange rates, and a backdrop of divided public opinion pose a risk to overseas charitable giving in particular, foundation spending still increased by 8.2% on the previous year. According to the report, published by the Association of Charitable Foundations, gains in investment and voluntary income streams were the main drivers behind increased spending.
Based on annual disbursements across 2016-17, these are the U.K.-based foundations channeling the most amount of money toward sustainable international development efforts. Net assets are based on the same period of time, although some may have since risen.