1 in 5 Swedish nonprofits forced to cut back, despite increased public giving

Despite increased public giving at the beginning of the year, many of Sweden’s nonprofit organizations are having to cut back, according to a new report from Giva Sverige.

The status report shows that one in five of its member organizations has reduced its operations compared to what was planned, largely as a result of reduced public support and sharply increasing costs. Only 7% of members say they have been able to expand.

For half of the organizations, public funding has decreased since 2022’s change of government. A third also report decreased willingness among companies to contribute this year. In addition, 7 out of 10 organizations said they are pessimistic about developments in the world.

Giva Sverige’s Giving Index for May, which is included in the report, shows that giving remains strong – increasing in the first quarter of the year. However, optimism about future giving is decreasing and Giva Sverige notes that the increase does not outweigh the withdrawn support from other funders and increased costs.

Charlotte Rydh, Secretary General of Giva Sverige, comments:

“Some see giving from the public and companies as something that can easily replace public support, but the reality is rarely that simple. Different types of funders fulfil different functions, and together they create the stability required for long-term investments and sustainable operations.”

Since its inception in 2023, the Giving Index has proven to be an accurate indicator, both for the development of giving and for the mood of the economy. On two occasions, increases in the Giving Index have been followed by increased confidence in the future among households and companies according to the Barometer Indicator, which is the National Institute of Economic Research’s indicator of the mood in Swedish society.

Rydh adds:

“The Giving Index was introduced with the ambition of being able to quickly understand how external events affect giving from the public and companies. So far, the index has also proven to be useful for the opposite; to use the development in giving as an indicator of how the entire economy is moving. The fact that optimism about future giving is now decreasing should therefore also be seen as negative for other sectors of society.”

Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash