Are people as charitable during a recession?

I have just returned from completing the Three Peaks Challenge where I witnessed a vast amount of money being raised for good causes. Whilst slowly dragging myself up the third mountain, I started to think about how the recession has affected charitable donations. I assumed donations will have reduced with disposable income going down, but it seems people have stayed committed to charity. This is due to charities offering different ways for people to pay with a 24% rise in debit card payments.

This article could be used for a lesson on competition as charities have been forced to innovate to increase donations.