The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has enjoyed a surge in donations after the charity was criticised for its work helping to save people from drowning abroad.

Both the Times and MailOnline had highlighted that the RNLI was sending millions of pounds to projects overseas at a time when it was facing a funding crisis that forced it to cut posts in the UK. Coverage included comments from two Tory MPs attacking the policy and led some donors to say they would stop supporting the charity.

The RNLI reacted robustly, arguing that its mission had always been to save lives overseas as well as in UK and Irish waters. People began to donate money to show their support for the charity’s work in Africa and Asia.

One donor said he had struggled to donate because the RNLI site had crashed under the traffic load. Others said they were setting up direct debits to support the work of the charity overseas and as a riposte to the coverage in the Times and MailOnline.

It has been a difficult few weeks for the RNLI. In August, it warned that it faced a “perfect storm” of a shortfall of funds when it was busier than ever saving lives in the UK; last week it announced plans to cut 135 positions, including 95 permanent jobs.

The Times carried the details of the RNLI’s overseas spending in an article headlined: “RNLI funding burkinis for Africans while cutting jobs.” Part of MailOnline’s headline read: “How £3.3m of donations to lifeboat charity are spent abroad including aid for Tanzania swimmers and creches in Bangladesh.”

The RNLI reacted by publishing a long statement in which it explained it had always been dedicated to reducing drowning not just in the UK but across the globe.

In response to the @MailOnline & @thetimes:we are proud of our international work. Its saves (mostly kids') lives. And we haven't kept it secret - it's in our annual report, on our website and in the media. We spend just 2% of our expenditure on this work: https://t.co/STztOxG1OP — RNLI (@RNLI) September 15, 2019

It pointed out that its founder, Sir William Hillary, had the vision that we “should extend our views [of drowning prevention] from our own immediate coasts, to the most remote quarters of the globe, and to every neighbouring state”.

The statement said: “We currently spend less than 2% of the RNLI’s total annual expenditure on our international drowning prevention activity and we actively seek donations specifically for this work, including [from] the Isle of Man’s international development fund and Department for International Development in the UK, both of which have made substantial donations to our international work this year.”

It denied the suggestion it had not been clear with supporters that some of its funds went abroad. “We greatly value our supporters and have not misled them. The RNLI’s international work has been reported in detail in our annual reports going back several years and information is also available from the RNLI website and regularly reported elsewhere.”

It went into detail about two projects mentioned in the articles. “The Panje Project teaches women swim survival skills in Zanzibar. The burkini, which is a full-length swimsuit, is an innovative (and cheap) way of enabling girls in strict Muslim countries to get into the water without compromising their cultural and religious beliefs. The RNLI has been involved in the Panje Project with the majority of the RNLI’s involvement funded by a donor who specifically wanted the money to go towards this project.

“The Creches for Bangladesh programme helps reduce children’s risk of drowning by ensuring they have close supervision throughout the day. About 40 children a day die from drowning in Bangladesh. Access to a free creche place reduces a child’s risk of drowning by an incredible 82%.”

An RNLI spokesperson said: “In response to the recent media pieces about the lifesaving work we are doing overseas, we have been very encouraged to see a sharp increase in online donations, coupled with some very positive messages of support. But this is such a polarising issue, and we have also received some very negative responses, including people contacting our supporter care team requesting to withdraw or reduce their support for the charity.

“The volume of responses we have received on this matter is vast and ongoing – the overall picture is changing constantly at the moment, so it may be several weeks before we have a full understanding of its impact on donations to the RNLI.”

On Twitter, one donor said: “They have had so many donations the site has crashed. It took me a while yesterday to make my donation but it went through in the end.”

Another added: “My monthly DD [direct debit] starts this month. You’ll come out of this stronger and more respected than ever.”

The RNLI tweeted: “Thank you to everyone who has sent messages of support and made donations to us over the past 24 hours – we simply couldn’t save lives without our amazing supporters.”