This provisional total is a slight increase on the €373m donated in 2023 and 2022’s €363.4m. It also represents 28% growth since 2019.

However, it is not the highest figure in recent years; €387.6m of tax-deductible donations were made in 2021. In several European countries, 2020 and 2021 were years of particularly high donations to charity, as the world grappled with the worst period of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But Belgium’s 2024 figure may still rise due to late filings of financial documents. In 2023, more than €18m in donations were revealed in certificates which were received after the deadline. If this were repeated for 2024, then the year’s total donations would beat the 2021 figure.

The average donation in Belgium rose from €153 in 2023 to €164 in 2024’s provisional figures, meaning it has grown nearly a fifth since 2019, when it stood at €139.

This trend, of the number of donors declining or stagnating, but average donation amount growing, has also been seen in several other European countries in recent times.

Despite this growth in donations, fundraisers and charities in Belgium remain concerned about a reduction in the level of tax deduction applying to donations, from 45% to 30%.

EFA member Fundraisers Belgium is a member of the Impact Coalition which has campaigned against this change.

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Five Belgian parties reached a deal on January 31 to form the new ‘Arizona’ coalition government, led by Bart De Wever from the nationalist N-VA party.

In response to the proposed measure in the coalition’s draft agreement, the Impact Coalition – a group of associations, federations and umbrella organisations of which EFA member Fundraisers Belgium is a member – has shared the possible impact of such a deduction with the parties involved and is calling for its removal.

This has included sharing the message in the media and sending a letter, endorsed by more than 180 representatives of fundraising organisations in the country – including Fundraisers Belgium members and supporters.

The Impact Coalition describes the threat of a reduced tax credit for donations as ‘a cold shower, instead of a warm encouragement for all that work for the social interest’. It says that the deduction would impact the donations of more than one million households who annually transfer more than €350 million in donations to charity, with an average of more than €300 per family.

The ‘gain’ for the federal budget would be limited, it adds, bringing in just an estimated 50 to 55 million euros. However, the losses for the sector and for society would be far more significant, leading to a decrease in donations, and therefore in the resources of the organisations and institutions affected. In turn, this could have a negative impact on beneficiaries, as well as on employment and workload in the sector.

The Impact Coalition comments:

“The arguments were communicated to the parties involved and through the media. But unfortunately, this measure was not removed from the coalition agreement. However, a provision in the coalition agreement is not yet a legal measure: it would have to be amended in law (WIB92), thus get a majority in the House of Representatives. So the battle is not quite over yet.”

Picture by Patrick Robert Doyle on Unsplash

Among Generation Y the figure is similar at 31%, while it is lower for Baby Boomers (11%) and Generation X (20%), says the latest Legatenbarometer study, which was carried out by HOGENT on behalf of the national fundraising campaign Testament.be. It includes a 2,600-person study on attitudes to legacies.

While some of those said they were not sure whether they would consider leaving a legacy, 66% of Gen X and 75% of Boomers answered a definite ‘no’ to this question.

Elsie Laes, an adviser on legal matters around legacies at the university KU Leuven, comments: “For the younger generations, a will is still far from their minds. But nonetheless; what we learn young, we know forever. Those who support good causes from a young age may be more likely to consider making a bequest when they are older.”

Ruth De Bruycker, a legacy adviser at Greenpeace Belgium, which received €1.6m through legacies in 2023, notes: “The fact that the younger generations, Y and Z, are increasingly interested in making legacies to good causes is a promising sign of a responsible, conscious and involved generation. It is very encouraging to know that there is a future in this field.”

The Legatenbarometer also revealed that, for the second year in a row, there has been a slight decline in both overall legacy income, and in the number of legacies received by Belgian charities – a total of €200.7m was received by 174 causes, with an average single gift value of €135,000.

The three charities receiving the most from legacies in 2023 was the same as in 2022, with each of these charities growing its income by around a fifth. They were:

• Stichting tegen Kanker (Foundation Against Cancer): €31.m (€25.5m in 2022)
• Kom op tegen Kanker (Stand up to Cancer): €23.2m (€19.1 million in 2022)
• Artsen Zonder Grenzen (Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders): €18.4m (€15.5 in 2022)

Health organisations received 35% of all legacy income in Belgium during the year, making it the most popular sector for these gifts.

However, while the average health charity legacy gift was €406,000, two sectors saw significantly higher average gift values: €2.2m for sports and leisure, and €974,000 for environment and animal welfare.

Picture by Florian on Pixabay

But charities could still use these as an opportunity to build what might become a more positive relationship, according to How do charities raise funds from companies? by Hogeschool Gent, better known as HOGENT.

That report, as well as another entitled How Generous are Flemish and Brussels SMEs?, has been published to support the growing number of charities wishing to develop corporate income streams. Both are available on the HOGENT website.

The business generosity study shows that around four out of five SMEs in Flanders and Brussels support charities. These are generally based around donations, with only one in 12 having an employee volunteering programme.

The How do charities raise funds report recommends that charities invest time into understanding the corporate sector, undertake targeted prospecting, and communicate clearly what it is that they offer, in order to achieve corporate fundraising success.

One area addressed in it is non-cash donations, including of furniture or other equipment. The 46 fundraisers who contributed to the report were split in their opinions of these gifts – while some found them useful, others said it felt like they were being given surplus goods, meaning the corporate is effectively passing a logistical problem on to the charity.

One fundraiser for an international development organisation says in the report:

“We regularly encounter companies trying to dump all kinds of overstock or things that are just about to expire, suggesting: ‘yes, you can do something with this in Africa, so that we can get rid of it’. That is often with good intentions, but we have a lot of resistance to this because that is colonial thinking: ‘everything that we no longer find good enough here will still be okay in Africa.’”

The report goes on to say that some fundraisers have at times accepted a gift that was not particularly useful, in order to build a relationship with the donor.

Ethical issues

The report also considers ethical issues with corporate relationships – saying that ethical policies generally include a list of industries from whom a charity would not accept donations.

It adds that while fundraisers know that they need to have such policies, many admit that it is difficult to know how to start building one, and can be tricky to put them into practice given the grey areas that could exist.

One fundraiser told researchers that it had twice been offered donations from a tobacco company, but with no strings attached. They commented:

“We were not asked to make it public. We accepted the donations – but if the company had wanted their logo to be displayed on our vans, then [we would have said] no.”

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Daniëls has been head of marketing at wildlife and nature conservation nonprofit Natuurpunt since 2011. Before that he worked for other environmental organisations including the youth-focused Jeugdbond voor Natuur en Milieu.

Van Roosbroeck is head of fundraising and communications at Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen (Flemish Refugee Action). He began his career as a face-to-face fundraiser for Greenpeace, where he spent 10 years in a variety of positions.

Since 2022, Willems has been fundraising manager at cancer charity Stichting Tegen Kanker. She has also worked for Oxfam, and for more than five years sat on the board of social impact investor Oikocredit Belgium.

The new trio join the board as Amnesty International fundraising coordinator Jeroen Janssens steps down after seven years of service.

The nine-person board is chaired by Isabel Penne, who co-founded Fundraisers Belgium in 2011.

Penne told Fundraising Europe that a milestone for the organisation in the second half of 2024 will be the launch of a country’s first Postgraduate Certificate in Fundraising. Starting in September, this course will initially be offered in Dutch (Flemish).

A one-year course, it has been designed to help meet the rising demand for professionally trained fundraisers. Currently, there is no other such offering in Belgium.

Who is it for?

The Postgraduaat fondsenwerving is for individuals seeking a comprehensive education in how to strategically and professionally approach fundraising within an organization. This includes recent graduates from various disciplines (such as marketing, social work, business administration) as well as professionals already in the field.

Blending theory and practice

The programme comprises 37 sessions divided into five modules (introduction to fundraising, strategic fundraising, marketing and communication, fundraising mix, and a work placement). 25 of the sessions are conducted in person, while 12 are held online, always on Thursdays and Fridays. There are no exams.

Throughout the year, students work on a final project under the guidance of experienced professionals from the field. In the second semester, students undergo a 10-week, two-day-per-week internship to develop a comprehensive fundraising plan. This internship can be undertaken at a nonprofit organization of choice or the organization where the student is currently employed.

The structure allows for easy integration with a job. For professionals already in the field, the programme offers a learning opportunity with a certificate. For organizations, the investment yields a professionally trained fundraiser and a completed fundraising plan.

The postgraduate programme starts on Thursday, September 26, 2024, with more information available here.

The award is a sign of recognition for fundraisers from the industry and their peers. The three nominees – Allez, Chantez, Welzijnszorg and UZA Foundation – each pitched their case, with the Fundraiser Day audience voting for the winner.

Allez, Chantez was recognised for its annual campaign to encourage the spirit of giving among song lovers and raise funds so it can continue offering free singing sessions. Every year, the fundraising campaign runs around Allez, Chantez’s anniversary, with the aim of raising enough for another ten sessions.

The expert jury, which selected the nominees, praised the campaign concept and timeline, how it focuses on and communicates an annual goal, the transparency of the story behind it and its sense of urgency. They noted that few socio-cultural organisations are currently fully committed to fundraising in Belgium and that the case of Allez, Chantez therefore serves as an inspiration. The campaign collects cash and digital donations, which also enable it to capture data.

Welzijnszorg came second with fundraiser Chris De Cock responsible for delivering a turnaround at the organisation, through creating internal support for using telemarketing for conversion and donor upgrades. This has seen Welzijnszorg grow from around 10 monthly donors in 2021 to more than 320 monthly donors now, providing a monthly income of approximately 4,500 euros. Internally, confidence has grown that asking a giving question in the right way strengthens the relationship between Welzijnszorg and its supporters.

UZA Foundation and their fundraising team was the third nominee. Their successful mountain bike race in Wolvenbos took place for the fourth time this year to benefit cancer research. UZA Foundation motivates companies to put together a team of five riders who brave a challenging course, and despite a limited network, manages to mobilise a large community. They focus on fun with an element of competition: FUNraising. In 2023, the event raised €243,000.

The day brought 120 fundraisers and fundraising service providers together to learn and inspire in the field of fundraising. In the morning, Marc Michils (chairman of Kom op tegen Kanker) spoke with a plea: ‘For solidarity. Against hostility’. After the award ceremony, participants were able to choose from afternoon sessions on event fundraising, scientific research on ethics in street fundraising, middle donors, bequests, and more. There were also networking opportunities, and the day ended with a debate on ‘creating impact with fundraising’.

This is according to the 2023 Legatenbarometer carried out by Hogeschool Gent, better known as HOGENT, on behalf of the national fundraising campaign Testament.be.

Health charities received the largest income from legacies, although gifts given to environmental and animal welfare charities were on average much higher.

The four charities receiving a total of more than €10 million in legacy income this year were:

• Stichting tegen Kanker (Foundation Against Cancer): €25.5 million
• Kom op tegen Kanker (Stand up to Cancer): €19.1 million
• Artsen Zonder Grenzen (Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders): €15.5 million
• Vrienden Der Blinden (Friends of the Blind): €11.3m

Last year, Artsen Zonder Grenzen was the number one charity in that list. Vrienden Der Blinden is a new entry into the €10m-plus bracket, while healthcare research charity Fondation Saint-Luc, which had been third on the list last year, drops out.

The report shows that for the charities receiving legacies in the country, the mean average number received was a little more than five. That number has been five or six in most years of the study, which was first published in 2010, although in 2019 and 2021 it was nearly seven. In every year, the modal average has been one.

For charities receiving legacies, these gifts accounted on average for 18% of their income, a figure that has risen steadily from 11% in 2010.

The report notes that the sector will continue to be alert to the long-term impact of 2021 changes to tax rules for legacies in Flanders, which is home to more than half of the country’s population. Previously, the system had been abused for tax optimisation purposes, and had the effect of creating large extra taxes for charities.

Picture: Cytonn Photography via Pexels

In all of the other three sectors defined by the report – culture & leisure; environment & animal welfare; and development – the figure is lower, at 42%.

This is according to a survey of 700 Belgian associations registered on Bonnes Causes, which was carried out by polling firm Ipsos for the King Baudouin Foundation.

The 2022 Associations Barometer also reveals that associations in the social and health sectors were more likely to say that their financial situation got worse during the past year, and to have a negative view of the financial health of the nonprofit sector as a whole.

Looking back at 2022, 40% of those surveyed said their financial situation had worsened, while 14% said theirs had improved. This compares to 49% worsening and 8% improving in 2020. Pre-pandemic, back in 2018, more associations reported improved finances (22%) than worsened finances (19%).

However, despite this, only 10% of respondents said they had faced financial difficulties in 2022. This figure is much higher for small organisations (14%) compared with large (6%) or very large (2%) ones. The same overall figure was true in 2020.

The data also shows that charities were more concerned about the impact of rising inflation than about the effects of Covid-19 on their fundraising.

Sources of money

The report points out that funding in the form of government grants – local, regional, federal, and European ­– which is crucial for the country’s nonprofits, appears to have remained relatively stable during the year.

In 2022, it accounted for 58% of the sector’s total revenues, with 74% of respondents receiving this type of income.

This compares to 73% of respondents receiving donations from the public (individual giving and wills), and the public and private sector (such as companies, private foundations, and public interest foundations). This makes up 25% of overall sector income although a growing number of associations – 31% in 2020 and 40% in 2022 – say that the number of these donations received decreased during the year.

The majority (64%) collect donations through digital channels, although this figure varies across the sector. It is much higher (86%) for development organisations, close to average in social (66%) and environment & animal welfare (62%), and lower in culture & leisure (58%) and health (56%).

Development charities were the most likely to use a wider range of fundraising channels, the report shows.

Commenting, Dorien Baelden, senior project coordinator, King Baudouin Foundation, said:

“After the Covid-19 pandemic, the effects of which are still being felt, it is now high inflation that is weakening the financial base of nonprofit organisations and putting pressure on their future prospects. Although the sector is resilient, nonprofits deserve our support more than ever. In times of crisis, they play a key role in strengthening the social fabric. Support from both the public and private sectors therefore remains essential.”

The average value per organisation in 2021 was €1.7 million, up from €1 million in 2020, while the average per legacy rose from €100,174 in 2020 to €118,742 last year. On average, charities received 8 legacies each.

This is according to a report by the university of Applied Sciences Hogeschool Gent (HOGENT). It is based on data from 233 charities. The total number of legacies received (723) was a significant decrease from 835 in 2020.

The Legatenbarometer says: “In Belgium, almost all deaths from COVID-19 occurred immediately in 2020. That could possibly explain why there were slightly more legacies in 2020 than the year before and the year after.”

The total value of legacies received in 2021 was €218.6 million for 128 organisations. The majority (60%) of this went to organisations with an income of more than €9 million, despite these larger charities only making up 27% of the organisations in the report.

Four charities in the country, all of which are healthcare or medical charities, received a total of more than €10 million in legacy income:

– Artsen Zonder Grenzen (Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders): €31.4 million

– Stichting tegen Kanker (Foundation Against Cancer): €27.3 million

– Fondation Saint-Luc: €26.6 million

– Kom op tegen Kanker (Stand up to Cancer): €13.6 million

The report also says that the charity sector remains concerned about the impact of a change to tax laws around ‘duo legacies’ in Flanders, the region containing more than half of Belgium’s population. These came into force in July 2021, and the Legatenbarometer says it is too early to assess its actual impact.

“The fact that so many Belgians are keen to recognise charities through legacies shows that the sector is doing a good job not just in making a positive difference in society, but in explaining that impact. The charity sector should see a big opportunity in further developing legacy fundraising, but we also need to pay close attention to the duo legacy law change, which risks taking away valuable funds from organisations doing crucial work,” Isabel Penne, president of Fundraisers Alliance Belgium notes.

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