Barclays said the launch is a response to demand from its high net worth clients looking to understand what questions they should ask to ensure their donations are well-spent.

Barclays has launched a guide to help charity donors make informed decisions about their giving.

The guide, Smart Giving: A Guide to Donating, forms part of Barclays' client philanthropy service for high net worth clients but covers information for anyone considering donating more than £100 ($145). It encourages donors to look for information to better understand how the charity works, what impact they achieve, and how the charity is managed.

Smart Giving aims to help readers understand the right questions to ask to determine how to ensure their personal data is protected, while offering tips on how to link the level of information individuals seek from a charity to the scale of the donation they wish to make.

“The charity sector has increasingly come under a spotlight for a number of reasons and so we felt it would be useful to share some tips and advice on how to give ‘safely’ and in an informed way to charities in the UK,” said Emma Turner, head of client philanthropy at Barclays Wealth & Investment Management.

“Consider the analogy of buying a second hand car – in this case you would be unlikely to buy without knowing a few very important things. You might for example, check on the DVLA site that it was registered there and not stolen, and that it had a valid MOT. Giving to charity should be just the same. At Barclays, we want to help our clients enjoy their charitable giving and for it to be effective.”

Taking the time to become fully informed before making donations is especially important considering many philanthropists plan to leave at least a third of their fortune to charity – from 13 per cent in the Middle East to 26 per cent in Europe, 28 per cent in Asia and 38 per cent in the US, according to the 2016 BNP Paribas Individual Philanthropy Index.