Gave money to area beset by rising depression (4)
I believe the answer is:
paid
'gave money to' is the definition.
'area beset by rising depression' is the wordplay.
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'beset by' is an insertion indicator ('beset' could historically mean 'cover').
'rising' is a reversal indicator (in a down clue, letters go up).
'depression' becomes 'dip' (dip is a kind of depression).
'dip' back-to-front is 'pid'.
'a' placed inside 'pid' is 'PAID'.
(Other definitions for paid that I've seen before include "Remunerated" , "Forked out" , "Discharged a debt" , "Settled the bill" , "Given money (for work)" .)