CIOF’s Philanthropy 2035 project aims to support growing philanthropy
Howard Lake | 2 December 2025 | News
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising is marking Giving Tuesday today by announcing its Philanthropy 2035 project, a bid to ‘celebrate generosity nationwide’ and to support growing philanthropy across the UK.
Philanthropy 2035 is a three-stage research project and part one is published today. The initiative:
- explores the challenges charities are currently facing when reaching and retaining major donors
- sets out the trends that will shape philanthropy over the coming decade and the steps the CIOF, charities, government and the wider sector can do in the short-term to encourage philanthropy
- and proposes steps to encourage philanthropy in the short term that the CIOF, charities, government and the wider sector can take.
At its heart it asks two questions on behalf of its members and their charities:
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- What do charities want philanthropy to look like in 10 years?
- And how can government, charities and other stakeholders work together to make it happen?
Five actions
The CIOF has highlighted five key actions from the report that will “inform and drive forward its growing giving work over the coming year”.
They are:
- Calling for cross party support on growing philanthropy across the UK
- Working with their ‘Championing Fundraising Advisory Panel’, who will be tasked with educating boards and senior leadership teams on the importance of investing in relationship-based fundraising
- Creating resources and forums for professional advisors and charities to identify new and innovative ways to improve philanthropic journeys, in collaboration with their Major Donor Special Interest Group
- Shaping the national conversation about philanthropy by promoting authentic stories that raise awareness of how generosity improves society
- Launching a dedicated Philanthropy 2035 hub that will showcase the latest intelligence and trends on philanthropy, and introduce a philanthropy policy tracker to help charities stay up to date with ways in which the philanthropic market is evolving
Claire Stanley, Director of Policy and Communications at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, is convinced that there is still much untapped potential to grow philanthropy in the UK.
She said:
“A person’s philanthropy journey can start anywhere – and there’s no better time than Giving Tuesday to consider how we reach the philanthropists of tomorrow”.
She added:
“The most common theme coming out of our research interviews was that charities aiming to grow and sustain their major giving programmes must shift towards relationship-based fundraising. This approach focuses on providing donors with a tailored, meaningful experience – moving beyond transactional giving to foster long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships”.
The CIOF plans to work with our members to grow support for philanthropy across all political parties.
Stephanie Peacock, Minister for Civil Society, welcome the Chartered Institute’s initiative, saying:
“Giving Tuesday is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the powerful role of charitable giving and philanthropy to society, enabling charities to deliver essential services and support communities across the country…
“This government recognises the important role major donors play in strengthening our charitable sector, and we will continue to work with organisations like the CIOF to create an environment where philanthropy can flourish and make a lasting difference to people’s lives.”
Philanthropy 2035 resources
CIOF members can apply to attend workshops on Philanthropy 2035 in January and February 2026.
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.