Donations to religious organisations fuel Irish fundraised income growth

Fundraised income increased by 6% in Ireland between 2014 and 2015, reaching a total of €823 million, according to a report by 2into3.

2into3’s The Irish Not-for-Profit Sector: Fundraising Performance Report 2017 shows that the increase in fundraised income was driven by a steep rise in donations to religious organisations. While the majority of organisations in the study’s sample (50.7%) experienced a decrease in fundraised income, the increase by certain subsectors, in particular religion, which saw a 73.9% increase, determined an overall increase. Only three other subsectors experienced an increase: professional/vocational, philanthropy/voluntarism, and social services, while international remained flat.

48% of organisations had an income below €100,000 in 2015, with 12% of Irish not-for-profit organisations reporting income of €1 million or above. The average income in 2015 was €990,900, while the median was €110,783.

Education/research dominated the sector in terms of income, accounting for 33.5% of total income, followed by health, which received 21.3%. In terms of fundraised income, social services received 22c of every €1 raised in 2015, while international organisations received 18c of every €1. Philanthropy/voluntarism as well as religion also received a significant proportion of total fundraised income of 16% and 15% respectively.

The majority of fundraised income for the survey sample came from regular/committed giving (35%) and direct marketing appeals (18%). Local/community fundraising accounted for 9%, while selling something and legacies both accounted for 7% each.

More key findings:

• Average cost to raise €1 in 2015 was 29c
• Staff numbers increased by 4%
• State funding as a % of total income in 2015 was 47.5%, an increase of 4%
• Ireland’s per capita giving is €176; €200 less than of UK giving levels and nearly five times less than the US

This is 2into3’s 7^th annual report on fundraising in Ireland. The report is based on analysis of almost 1,300 not-for-profits sector accounts and estimates the total amount of fundraised income and philanthropy in Ireland in 2015.