Fund raising by major British charities suffered significantly less than expected in the early stages of the recession, Third Sector Online writes.

A survey of the country’s 500 biggest nonprofit groups by Charity Market Monitor, a publication that tracks giving trends, found that their revenue fell by about $96-million, or 1.1 percent, during the 2008-9 fiscal year. The publication previously forecast that the decline would be more than three times higher.

Cathy Pharoah, a professor at London’s Cass Business School and the report’s author, said it showed that “the public has not deserted charities,” but she added that organizations’ overall income could drop significantly as the British government enacts cuts in social spending.

British charities have already seen reductions of about $4.5-million in the past month due to the government cutbacks, with arts organization taking most of the hit, Third Sector also says. The figures come from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, which has set up a section on its Web site to track the cuts.