Now is the perfect time for a culture change in giving, according to the Philanthropy Review, a powerful network of high profile philanthropists and sector leaders led by Thomas Hughes-Hallett, chairman of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Yesterday (Tuesday) the Review launched a call-to-action to business leaders, philanthropists and government to encourage 'more people to give more and people to give more' in order to deliver an extra £2bn to charities by 2015.

The action plan identifies three key catalysts to creating a step-change in philanthropy that echo the government’s recent Giving White Paper -  making it easier for people to give; encouraging giving and helping giving become a social norm.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude, who responded to the plan at the Mansion House launch, called it a ‘radical set of proposals’, adding that creating a culture of giving was about "changing behaviour and something that could not be legislated for". Maude said he could not guarantee the Treasury would be able to take up all the proposals, which included a call for Living Legacies, but said he looked forward to working closely with the Review.

 Among the measures and innovations called for were for:

• high street banks and building societies to offer charity bank accounts to their clients
• business and chief executives to champion payroll giving, leading by example by giving through their own payroll.
• the simplification of  current tax incentives and equal application of these to all asset classes
• the introduction of living legacies, allowing individuals to make significant gifts to charity in their own lifetime.
• The establishment of  ‘giving’ education in every school and supporting it with match funding
• the launch of a national campaign later this year to celebrate giving and encourage people to give more, with the aim that 2012 will be a year of celebrating giving.

The Review also wants to see more robust data on giving and giving trends that they feel does not currently exist and which they say will be facilitated by more collaboration between government and charities and greater transparency on tax relief.

Despite acknowledging the generosity of the British in giving, Hughes-Hallett explained the need for a culture change in giving, lamenting the poor performance in recent years particularly compared to the US.

“Although a huge contribution is made by the general public, only 56% of British adults currently give to charity in an average month. Our goal is to encourage all those who can, to give, and to give more to build a stronger society for the future.

“We are particularly keen to see more being given back to society by those who can well afford it. We know that people earning over £200,000 per year give, on average, £2 to charity for every £1,000 that they earn; compare this with an equivalent £90 for every £1,000 amongst their peer group in the United States.

 “It is also the case that just 4% of the British workforce participates in a payroll giving scheme and less than 1% of UK employers operate an active scheme.  Contrast that with 35% of the workforce who participate in workplace giving in the US.

“But these are just a few of the ways to bring about a step change in giving and achieve the cultural shift that is needed.  This Review is timely and government has already demonstrated a real commitment to supporting a growth in the culture of giving with the measures it announced in the Budget earlier this year, and which were followed up in May by the Giving White Paper. But there is much more to be done and our report is a call-to-action to ensure that more people give and people give more.

Professor Cathy Pharoah of the Centre for Philanthropy and Giving who attended the launch asked what the panel believed would really give Payroll Giving the ‘oomph’ it needed to take off, in a way it hasn’t to date.

The panel felt leadership from employers, making payroll giving highly visible, and the fact that technology made it easier for communication between charities, donors and employers would be key to boosting the uptake of payroll giving.

Philanthropist Marcelle Speller OBE, founder of Localgiving.com, who was awarded in the Queen’s Birthday honours last week for her philanthropic contribution to society, said that what should be communicated is the “joy giving brings” and also the ways technology can be used to harness it. "I get no greater joy than when I am working with the charities I support," she said.

Hughes-Hallett went on to outline a vision of success for the action plan:  "We will see more people giving and more people engaged in their giving." By 2015 he said he wanted to see senior figures in business and government leading by example and giving made significantly easier.

He pointed to the ‘multiplier’ effect of millions of people making the same choice to give that can lead to dramatic improvements in society. “Some of the greatest contributions to UK society have developed from our culture of giving – the hospice movement, the mapping of the human genome and organisations such as Comic Relief are the embodiment of where the generosity and concern of people combine to drive social change,” he said.

Hughes-Hallett ended the session by saying he was confident the goals could be achieved, particularly with the willingness shown by government in its Giving White Paper: “Timing is key in this and the time is now,” he said.

Next month a report is expected on the implications and benefits of high street banks offering charity accounts which has been undertaken by Accenture on a pro-bono basis.

The Review body is expected to carry on working with government and business to achieve its goals, though will be streamlined after July.

The Philanthropy Review's report can be downloaded for free from the Philanthropy Review website.