Backlash against UK charity spending - and non-spending The charity sector is experiencing a growing backlash from wealthy donors against what some see as wasted donations, say industry figures. Philanthropist Gina Miller, founder and chairman of Miller Philanthropy, made headlines earlier this year after she expressed concerns about the growing industry of giving. She said the nation would be shocked if it knew how much donated money was "being used on someone's wage packet." Her organisation takes the due diligence principles used in wealth management and applies them to charities, using the staff and facilities of her family's wealth management boutique, SCM Private, which works pro bono. Miller believes that much philanthropic, corporate and individual giving is being wasted and that people should look more carefully at what they give and how it is used. This view is supported by new research showing that wealthy donors are more likely to give money to charities that are transparent about their administration costs and how much they keep in reserves. Oikocredit, the development finance organisation has found that 42 per cent of prospective supporters take into account the cost of administration while 24 per cent expressed a need for the efficient investment of donated funds. The subject was also covered in more detail in a survey by Third Sector magazine, which looked at the annual accounts of the top 150 charities by income. It found that almost a third of bosses at the top 100 charities are paid more than £200,000 a year. Among the highest-paid charity executives in 2011 were the London Clinic, a charitable hospital; Nuffield Heath, which runs hospitals and gyms; and the Royal Opera House. Third Sector's research found that charities in the medical, health and science sectors paid their highest earners the most, with a mean average of between £481,000 and £489,000 in the top 100, followed by arts organisations with an average of between £308,000 and £315,000. Quangos, government agencies and leisure trusts paid their top earners the least: a mean of between £156,00 and £159,000 a year. Another controversial area is reserves: the amount of money the charity has that has not been committed to projects or beneficiaries. Some critics of the charity sector question why some charities" surplus cash is growing when it could be helping beneficiaries. Research by Charity Finance magazine looked at how much the largest 50 charities hold in reserve and found wide discrepancies. Gareth Jones, writing in the magazine, said: "Holding on to cash that could potentially be spent on beneficiaries on the basis of crude reserves calculations is hard to justify, and has led many charities to think harder about how much they keep in reserve." BDO, the accountancy firm, has also surveyed reserve levels at the largest UK charities. It found that Wellcome Trust, which funds research to improve human and animal health, grew its reserves between 2009 and 2011, by £503m. Nuffield Health, a health charity, also increased its reserves over that period, by £117m. Don Bawtree, head of charities at BDO, who helped compile the research, said: "Donors are being more cautious, they want to know that their money isn't being wasted. What we found in our research was that there is still a high degree of confusion and idiosyncratic reporting in this area, allowing scope for charities to present their reserves to suit their own message.