A mixed bag of giving allsorts hit the headlines this fortnight offering a taste of where the recession may be beginning to bite deepest; and where giving remains palatable.

As has been cited here previously a divide appears to be growing between corporate and asset-based giving and that of individuals.

News that charity Caudwell Children is celebrating a record £1.7m raised at the annual Butterfly Ball this month must make the recession easier to swallow. The total is an increase of £300,000 on last year despite concerns that, because of the current economic situation, the 820 guests may have been inclined to give less.

Although this column can’t attest to the individual amounts given the presence of Rod Stewart and Liz Hurley and sponsorship by HSBC Private Banking, Coutts private bank, Barclays Wealth and TLC gives an indication of the amount of wealth present.

Yet alarmingly, a new survey commissioned by the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) showed 77% of the charities it represents (117 in total) fear the downturn will significantly affect their work.

Sources of income predicted by members as likely to be most affected by the economic downturn are investments 68.1%, followed by legacies (51.9%), corporate giving (44.1%), public donations (35.1%) and trusts and foundations (29%).

And, while the organisation has urged the government and public donors to increase support, a slightly more palatable view emerges in Chief Executive Simon Denegri’s statement: “Donors and supporters of medical research charities should be encouraged by the clear message that AMRC's members are actively looking at closer collaboration, co-funding and other options for working in partnership as a means of both cutting costs and making the money they raise go further in supporting quality research.”

The taste of lost income may be more bitter for past recipients of ITV television network’s matched funding payroll scheme. The beleaguered network has announced that from April it ceased matching staff donations through its Give As You Earn scheme because of financial constraints. This is according to the broadcaster's corporate responsibility report, published this month.

ITV's revenue declined by 14% in the first three months of this year and the broadcaster chose to donate £7.8m to charity when it repaid money it earned from phone-ins to entertainment programmes that were found to have been rigged.

However, while ITV as a corporation may be unable to financially fulfill its CSR commitments, its employees continue to give through employee volunteering schemes and donated nearly £5,000 each month in 2008.

Offering a sweetener to the situation is the announcement that venture philanthropy Impetus Trust’s interim-year results show on average across the portfolio that its charities have continued to grow despite the economy, and have, in the past nine months, already helped more people (101%) than were helped in the previous 12-month period. 

The Trust focuses on a leveraged approach and has been able to generate an additional £5 of funding for its charities, for every £1 it invests.

Perhaps what is emerging is that it is time for the sector to look more closely at the allsorts of possibilities emerging in donor behaviour and begin to sort the sweet from sour in current practices.