77% of charities increased or maintained fundraising income in 2025 – Enthuse
Howard Lake | 19 February 2026 | News
The fifth annual Charity Pulse report from Enthuse, published today, provides a detailed look at the performance of mass participant event charities in 2025 and the outlook for the year ahead. Despite a backdrop of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, the research reveals a resilient sector that is increasingly optimistic about its fundraising prospects.
The report covers three areas:
- how charities fared in 2025 as well as optimism levels around fundraising for 2026.
- where good causes see the challenges lying in 2026 as well as trust levels in the sector
- charities’ technology adoption to see what good causes are using and how this relates to digital strategy.
The state of play
The report highlights a significant upward trend in fundraising performance over the last five years. In 2021, only 27% of organisations reported an increase in income. By 2025, this figure rose to 45%, representing an 18 percentage point increase over the period. Overall, more than three quarters (77%) of charities saw their income either grow or remain stable during the past year.
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This performance has fostered a healthy level of optimism, with 64% of charity leaders feeling positive about 2026. This confidence is underpinned by a perceived growth in cause awareness (75%) and expanded digital opportunities (69%). Leaders expect the strongest growth to come from corporate fundraising (59%), followed by fundraising events (53%) and individual giving (46%).
Challenges and trust
While optimism is high, 60% of organisations identify the economy as a significant challenge. However, there is a notable shift in internal sentiment; only 14% of leaders now worry that their fundraisers are reluctant to ask for support. This is a marked improvement from the 29% reported in 2024 and 36% in 2023.
Trust remains a vital foundation for the sector. More than half of charities (52%) believe the public would rate trust in their organisation as a nine or ten out of ten. When including scores of eight and above, this figure reaches 82%, suggesting that most causes feel they have a strong platform of supporter confidence to build upon.
Practical actions for fundraisers
The report suggests several clear tactics for charitable organisations to maximise their income in 2026:
- Promote early fundraising: More than half (53%) of charities intend to encourage participants to start their fundraising sooner. Providing integrated sign-up processes that automatically create fundraising pages can assist with this goal.
- Leverage mass participation: There is a growing trend toward third-party events. 81% of charities plan to participate in major events like the London Marathon this year, up from 64% in 2025.
- Enhance stewardship: To keep supporters engaged, 43% of organisations plan to use WhatsApp groups to build communities, and 36% intend to make more personal phone calls.
- Set milestones: Four in ten charities plan to set more specific targets for their fundraisers, while 18% will offer rewards for reaching particular milestones.
Technology and digital strategy
Practicality remains the priority for technology adoption. QR codes are now used by 88% of charities, reflecting their simplicity for donations and registrations. Video channels, including TikTok, have also seen rapid growth, with usage rising from 34% to 47% in just one year.
While artificial intelligence (AI) has not yet seen widespread adoption, interest is significant. More than a third (36%) of good causes are currently researching or trialling AI to personalise donor journeys. However, digital strategies are tempered by concerns regarding data security (58%) and the need to develop in-house digital skills (49%).
The research was conducted by RedFox Research. Decision makers from 100 charities were surveyed in November and December 2025 about how their organisation performed in 2025 and how they feel about future opportunities.
You can download the full report by registering your detail at Enthuse.
- Enthuse reports on mass participation event trends (10 February 2026)
- Access Group in agreement to acquire fundraising platform Enthuse (12 February 2026)
- Charities the most trusted institutions in the UK, research suggests (27 June 2024)
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.