Charity surpluses dropped by 60 percent over the recession in the U.K.

Analysis of charities’ annual returns released by the Charities Aid Foundation shows that charity surpluses dropped by 60 percent between 2007 and 2009 revealing the true impact that the recent recession has had on the overall financial well-being of charities.

The figures, from CAF's recently launched website Charity Trends, definitively show that each registered charity in England and Wales had on average £24,507 ($39,558) of surplus in 2007, compared to £10,240 ($16,529) in 2009 (the last year of complete data).

Overall the charity sector’s surplus dropped from £3.59 billion ($5.79 billion) in 2007 to £1.45 billion ($2.34 billion) in 2009.