Six in 10 charities ‘optimistic about fundraising’ this year
Howard Lake | 13 February 2025 | News
Fundraising, donations and events registration platform Enthuse reports that 60% of charities “feel optimistic about fundraising in 2025”.
Given the financial challenges faced by many UK households and by charities in the past year, this represents a marked improvement on the previous year’s (2023) figure of 44% who were positive.
This is doubtless based on the 77% of good causes which, according to the research, either maintained or increased their fundraising income in 2024. In the previous year the figure was substantially lower at 55%.
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The finding comes in the fourth annual edition of the Charity Pulse report which surveyed leaders at over 100 UK charities to find out how their organisations fared in 2024. It also asked them for their views on the opportunities and challenges they face in 2025.
Trust and awareness higher
The 100 charity leaders surveyed mostly reported a robust level of trust in their cause: 87% of them rated trust in their charity at a level of eight out of ten or higher.
This is trust in their charity, rather than trust in all charities.
Charity leaders were also more confident that there was now greater awareness of their cause and its need for public support. The percentage of leaders reporting this had risen from 47% in last year’s Charity Pulse to 74% in this report.
Leaders based this optimism on:
- more opportunities to make use of digital channels (74%)
- increased participation in mass physical events from younger people (55%)
- and high profile events such as TCS London Marathon and AJ Bell Great North Run being more inclusive and accessible for their supporters (44%)
Fundraising concerns for 2025?
The primary concerns of charity leaders for fundraisers for the rest of the year ahead were:
- uncertainty over the economy (47%)
- fundraisers “being reluctant to ask for support due to money being tight” (29%)
- donor fatigue (24%)
- the “death of cash” (21%).
Where might fundraising grow in 2025?
Charity leaders are anticipating that fundraising will grow in a number of areas:
- events and activities scored (54%)
- corporate fundraising (53%)
- individual giving (48%)
- regular giving (31%)
- in-memory giving (27%)
- legacy giving (25%)
Given Enthuse’s experience with supporting fundraising events, its research explored this area further.
What type of events charities are planning for this year? The 100 charity leaders answered:
- mass physical participation events (82%). This could be a charity-run event or one put on by a third party.
- smaller events such as bake offs and pub quizzes (80%)
- virtual physical events that participants can do in their own time (49%)
- a hybrid event (25%)
What works well in fundraising events?
The charity leaders ahred their thoughts on the top ways in which their fundraising colleagues raised more. These included:
- providing information on how the money will be used (87%)
- tips on how to ask people such as friends, family and colleagues for support (74%)
- sharing ideas for fundraising (73%)
- initiatives that inspired supporters to get started fundraising as early as possible (73%)
- seeing the amount raised on an official event web page (73%)
- offering integrated event sign-up and fundraising page creation (69%)
Commenting on the research, Chester Mojay-Sinclare, Enthuse Founder and CEO, said:
“In the face of adversity, it’s fantastic to see that many charities improved or maintained their fundraising income in 2024. The healthy level of optimism for 2025 bodes well for the sector. Charities have helped so many in need in the past 12 months and I’m glad they feel there’s a high level of trust in their work. They’ve earned it!”
“2024 was a record-breaking year for mass participation events like the TCS London Marathon and AJ Bell Great North Run driven by a real appetite from younger generations taking part in these kinds of events. It’s easy to see why they’re an important part of charities’ plans for this year too.”
The Charity Pulse Report 2025 can be downloaded by registering for free with Enthuse.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.