When it comes to charity, people are often happy to give a little something to those worse off than themselves. However, it remains dubious how much of the money actually goes to charity.

Charities are organisations, and any organisation incurs costs which are necessary for the running of that organisation. But consumers have become more concerned of where their donations are actually going, and rightly so.

Recent revelations by the Charities Advisory Trust revealed that in some cases, a meagre 4% of charity Christmas card sales bought on the high street actually went to charity.

A survey by the trust, obtained by Which?, found that Harrods, Cards Galore and Next are the most miserly, donating on average less than 10% of the price from all charity packs. John Lewis also has a large proportion of packs with donations of less than 10%.

If consumers knew the exact amount that actually went to the charities, they would perhaps make a different decision as to where they buy their cards from, and for what causes.

The most generous donation was from Waterstone’s where 50% goes to Unicef. However, the charity also pays publishing costs for the cards, which means the donation is 20-25%. Also among the more generous is Clinton Cards, which gives 21%.

The Charities Advisory Trust believes that if a donation is less than 10% of the price of a card, it shouldn't be called a charity card.

Many companies are keen to affiliate themselves with charities to promote themselves as ethical organisations with a heart. Some have suggested stricter guidelines and minimum donation levels for those companies that are seen to be working in conjunction with charities.

Last year's Channel 4 series 'The Secret Millionaire' showed that individual donations to good causes can make a huge difference to those on the receiving end. Perhaps the most effective way to give to charity is directly, and cut out the middle man.

The article Whose pocket are you lining? originally appeared on 999 Today