Conducted by Novos, the Barometer shows that momentum accelerated as the year progressed, reaching +4.2% in the second half. This was in a context of 0.9% inflation, and also follows two years of more modest growth (+2.4% in 2023 and +2.1% in 2024).

The report describes last year’s increase as a ‘genuine rebound’, and as all the more remarkable in occurring without any surge in fundraising linked to a major, high-profile emergency. In 2024 for example, Cyclone Chido in Mayotte accounted for 5% of total donations. However, the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine continued to benefit from strong donor engagement in 2025.

At the same time, France is seeing smaller donations decrease, and this trend continues with those under €150 declining again in 2025, representing 38.6% of total donations. This compares to a majority ten years ago (50.4% in 2015) but is offset by larger donations from wealthier donors.

Online giving now commonplace

The report also reveals that 36% of one-off donations now come from the web. In 2025, the amount of digital charity events (gaming, community fundraising, online mobilisations) represented within the panel doubled to nearly €15 million euros in donations, compared to €7 million in 2024.

These figures, says France générosités, reflect a profound change: giving online when making a purchase, rounding up one’s spending at the checkout to benefit a cause, participating in an online charity event like the Z-event, making a donation online in memory of a loved one, are gestures now part of the daily lives of the French.

Outlook uncertain for 2026

Despite the encouraging figures for 2025, France générosités warns that the outlook for 2026 calls for caution.

Previous editions of the Barometer have shown that two factors — fiscal instability and inflation — are likely to reduce French generosity. While the tax framework stabilised in 2025, inflation is rising again in France, reaching 2.2% this April (compared to April 2025, source: INSEE), driven largely by increased energy prices linked to the war in the Middle East. France générosités warns that this could bring an acceleration in the decline in donations under €150 this year.

Commenting on the findings, Philippe Pailliart, its president, said:

“French generosity is on the rise in 2025, good news for all causes of general interest — all the more valuable as many organisations are going through a difficult financial period. But this balance remains fragile: inflation is picking up again and 2026 looks uncertain. France générosités calls on the Government to guarantee now the stability of the tax framework for 2027. Undermining generosity would have dramatic consequences for all causes of general interest.” 

While record legacy income has been reported in Austria, Germany and the UK, in Belgium and Denmark data shows that there is still a need to develop a culture of legacy giving.

The Baromètre de la philanthropie 2026 or Barometer van de filantropie 2026, produced by King Baudouin Foundation, shows significantly fewer Belgians putting a charitable gift in their will. Of the 17% who have written a will, just 13% have included a donation. This is a “significant” drop from 23% in 2022, the report says.

Meanwhile in Denmark, a new publication by EFA member ISOBRO says that legacy income dropped by 20% to just under DKK 10m (€1.3m) between 2024 and 2025 for the 94 charities in its survey. However, total legacy income has increased from the total of DKK 7.7m in 2023, with 2024’s total likely to be a spike caused by a small number of particularly large donations in what is still a very small market overall.

By comparison, the 100 largest UK charities received nearly £2bn (€2.3bn) in legacy income last year, a figure that has grown 38% in the past five years. This is according to a new analysis (paywall) by UK charity sector publication Third Sector, which also shows that for a fifth of charities, legacy income increased by more than 100% in that period. More widely, figures for 2024 from Legacy Futures and Smee & Ford estimated total annual legacy income at £4.5bn — up 9% on the previous year.

In Austria, EFA member Fundraising Verband Austria (FVA)’s projections show that Austrians left €122m to charities via legacies in 2025 — a new national record, and more than double the figure from ten years ago.

Legacy giving now accounts for almost 12% of all charitable donations in the country, it says. The FVA also notes that more than 90% of legacy donors are single or childless.

In Germany, the 26 members of the ‘Mein Erbe tut Gutes. Das Prinzip Apfelbaum’ legacy marketing initiative received a record €148m in 2025.

Its survey, published in collaboration with EFA member Deutscher Fundraising Verband, also shows that 23% of Germans aged 50+ would now consider leaving a legacy to a charity — and that figure rises to 35% for those without children. There is a significant religious split — 22% of respondents identifying as Protestants say they would leave a gift in their will, versus 16% of Catholics.

In both Germany and Austria, animal welfare is the most popular cause for legacy gifts.

The donation platform goDonate, which is used by charities including the British Heart Foundation, World Food Programme and YMCA, analysed £30m (around €34.74m) of anonymised transaction data from 2025.

It found that 58% of one-off donations were made on mobile (versus 42% on desktop), which is up from 40% in 2024. For regular donations, the mobile giving figure grew from 61% to 67%.

Desktop gifts remain more valuable, averaging £78.59 (€91) for one-off donations and £15.47 (€18) for regular giving, compared with £43.79 and £8.96 on mobile. Gift values were broadly stable year on year, though one-off mobile donations dipped slightly.

This suggests that goDonate’s clients are faring better than many other UK charities — last month, Fundraising Europe reported that average donations in the country were dropping, with the sector having lost approximately £12.4bn in donor income in the last decade.

Digital wallets ‘reshaping donor behaviour’

The report also highlights the impact of digital wallets, saying that 49% of one-off donations in 2025 used a digital wallet, up from 45% in 2024. PayPal and Apple Pay are used far more often than Google Pay, it notes.

Average one-off card donations were £59.65. Donations via digital wallets were smaller: £38.26 with PayPal, £38.76 with Apple Pay, and £32.71 with Google Pay.

The report says that the findings show that mobile giving is now the ‘default’ option for users. Despite this, it notes, many charities “treat mobile as a simplified version of desktop”, rather than having a website optimised for mobile devices.

GoDonate’s founder and CEO Vicky Reeves comments:

“Charities must design for mobile-first giving and reduce friction during the donor journey. It also means offering digital wallets as part of the wide range of donation options supporters expect.”

The report includes a five-point checklist for charities to improve their mobile fundraising, covering areas such as mobile-first design, payment method choice and reducing friction in donation journeys.

The Fundraisinganalysen 2026, produced by Danish fundraising association ISOBRO and based on responses from 94 of its members, also shows increases in corporate and foundation income, especially for smaller charities.

Total income brought in through MobilePay, a popular mobile payment app in Denmark, grew by 79% from 2024 to 2025. The number of regular giving agreements made on MobilePay grew by 32%.

Meanwhile income through Betalingsservice, the country’s direct debit scheme, grew by just 4%. However, Betalingsservice still accounts for 57% of fundraised income, versus 20% for MobilePay. The next most common is bank transfer, accounting for 11%.

Average regular payments through the Betalingsservice and MobilePay are almost identical, each standing at roughly DKK 1,080 (€145).

Corporate contributions

The Fundraisinganalysen also shows an overall 5% rise in the amount given by companies between 2024 and 2025. There was also a 19% rise in the number of corporate donations, indicating that the value of donations has decreased.

While the value of gifts to smaller and medium-sized charities in the survey grew by 28% each last year, the corporate income of larger charities dropped by 12%.

Looking another year back, corporate income for smaller charities rose by more than 700% between 2023 and 2024. There has also been a sustained increase in the size of corporate donations to smaller charities — the figure rose from DKK 4,100 in 2023 to DKK 34,600 in 2024, before settling at DKK 32,300 in 2025.

Meanwhile, total income from foundations rose 7%, which included a 77% increase for smaller charities, and a 11% increase for larger charities, while mid-sized charities’ foundation income shrunk by 21%.

Conversion challenge

The report also reveals notable differences between cause areas in the challenge of converting one-off donors to regular givers.

It shows that 86% of nature-focused charities and 68% of international charities have a strategy for converting one-off donors to regular supporters — compared to much smaller figures for national (29%), disease (24%) and religious charities (7%).

In addition, 53% of international charities and 57% of nature charities say it has become harder, while the figure is much lower for the other three causes — close to 25% in each case.

The survey also shows a drop in legacy income, merchandise income and direct mail income. However, the number of active door-to-door and street fundraisers rose by 8% in the year, leading to a 3% increase in income.

The charities in the survey were also asked for their future priorities. They highlighted CRM investment, AI and data-driven fundraising, and digital campaign spend, alongside continued use of telemarketing and direct mail.

As the industry’s leading platform in the German-speaking world, the event focuses on discussions about trends, strategies and practical solutions. Over the course of the event, around 100 speakers will present 56 workshops/panels, 6 masterclasses, and three Big Sessions, with the programme suitable for beginners, advanced participants, and experts alike — as well as an international audience thanks to DeepL Live Voice-to-Text translation. Topics include digitalization, strategy, leadership and organizational development.

Another highlight is the presentation of the German Fundraising Award on 2 June, which is receiving particular attention this year due to a record number of entries.

EFA Learning Symposium

Taking place at the same venue on Monday 1 June, and kindly hosted by DFRV, is the EFA Learning Symposium. This event brings together senior fundraisers, educators and other influencers of fundraising talent, strategy, and professional development, to discuss and shape the future of fundraising education.

Through expert presentations and structured discussions, the Symposium will examine:

• The skills and knowledge future fundraising leaders need
• The impact of professional fundraisers on organizational income
• Why education drives performance
• Barriers to professional education

The EFA Learning Symposium can be booked here.

Our Place to Give, launched on 13 April by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), aims to connect philanthropic donors with local organizations and ensure that investment reaches disadvantaged communities.

DCMS says despite £14 billion being donated to charity across the UK in 2025, London currently receives more than a third of all funding from the largest philanthropic foundations.

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIOF) says in a blog post:

“The Chartered Institute warmly welcomes the roadmap and sees it as a crucial next step to creating a supportive infrastructure that harnesses the true value of philanthropy.”

The CIOF blog adds that many of its members’ recommendations and ideas were taken forward, including “the importance of government visibly and vocally championing philanthropy, developing networks to educate philanthropists, and integrating philanthropy into wealth advice”.

The CIOF says that key actions included in Our Place to Give include:

• Delivering a community of practice for place-based giving initiatives
• The creation of a select group of “philanthropy ambassadors”, who will advise government, including on the topic of match-funding
• Strengthening the provision of philanthropic advice in the financial services sector

The DCMS announcement cites a recent report by Barclays, which shows that 81% of high-net-worth individuals feel it is important that financial advisers raise philanthropy proactively, but only a third have experienced their advisers doing so.

DCMS has committed £1m of funding over the next three years to support the delivery of the plan.

At the launch, Stephanie Peacock, the Minister for Sport, Tourism, Civil Society and Youth, said:

“Today’s announcement will help philanthropists across the country support local causes they are passionate about. By better connecting generous individuals with local organizations at the heart of their communities, we can unlock a new wave of giving that reaches every corner of the country.”

Carol Mack OBE, Chief Executive of the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF), commented:

“This roadmap sends a clear signal that government understands it has a key role to play in helping place-based generosity go further, in every corner of the country. Philanthropic foundations already make a real difference in local communities, but deep geographic inequalities persist. By working closely with philanthropists — both institutions and individuals — government can benefit communities across England.”

Proven Practices in Gender Mainstreaming: Foundations in Conversation, a publication by Philea’s Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Network, notes that only 0.42% of foundation grants reach women’s rights organizations, and 1% of development aid reaches feminist organizations led by marginalised groups.

The report argues that funders should treat gender not as a standalone issue but as a lens that improves outcomes across all areas of work, from climate and health to employment and education.

The economic case for this is clear, Philea says, citing a McKinsey Global Institute report finding that gender inequality costs the world approximately $12 trillion in global gross domestic product (GDP).

This is particularly pressing given the rise in what it calls ‘anti-gender’ movements — typically well-resourced, strategically coordinated campaigns aimed at rolling back rights related to reproductive health, LGBTQ+ inclusion and gender education. Philea’s report highlights research showing that funding for these movements grew from $22.2m (€18.9m) per year in 2009 to $96m in 2018.

Next steps

The report, which draws on case studies from six major foundations, argues that funders should move away from siloed grantmaking. It argues that pooled and collaborative funds enable foundations to take bolder decisions, share risk, and direct resources more effectively to grassroots actors.

The report sets out four practical starting points for any organisation wanting to embrace gender mainstreaming: developing an internal business case, finding an internal champion, beginning with small initiatives, and gradually expanding the base of advocates.

Hilal Baykara, a consultant who wrote sections of the report, says in a blog on Philea’s website:

“In a time of democratic backsliding and rising anti-gender movements, philanthropic organizations of all types have both the responsibility and the ability to act with courage to mainstream gender across internal practices and external strategies, to invest in those most affected by inequality, and to safeguard the progress already won.”

This is according to the Nordic Donor Report 2026, conducted on behalf of EFA members ISOBRO (Denmark), Giva Sverige (Sweden), Fundraising Norway and VaLa (Finland), with around 1,000 adults surveyed in each country.

Seven in 10 (70%) Norwegians, up from 66% last year, said they donate regularly or occasionally to charities. In Denmark, which was the most generous nation in the 2024 and 2025 surveys, the figure fell slightly from 67% to 66%.

Sweden also overtook Denmark, moving from 64% to 69%, while Finland’s figure dropped from 50% to 48%.

Between 2024 and 2025, the donor share had risen in all four countries, by at least six percentage points.

The report notes that the difference between men’s and women’s giving rates has been narrowing over time, and that giving is also increasing across most age groups. The exceptions are in Sweden and Norway, where giving by 18-29-year-olds has been flat across the last three years — something the report says “may need specific attention.”

25% more engagement

Across the four countries, overall engagement in charitable activities has grown by 25% between 2024 and 2026. There is a positive trend around activities such as donating clothes or goods — the most common charitable activity in the region — entering raffles, and making one-off or regular donations.

Volunteering has remained essentially stable, moving from 9% in 2024 to 10% in 2026, while remembering a charity in a will has dropped from 2% to 1%.

Humanitarian aid remained the most supported cause across the Nordics, cited by 27% of respondents, with support for disadvantaged people in their home country (24%) and people in need in developing countries (18%) the next most prominent.

There is, however, notable variation within the region. Helping disadvantaged people in the home country is Finland’s most supported cause (35%), ahead of humanitarian aid (23%) — the reverse of the pattern in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, where humanitarian aid consistently leads. Finland is also the only country where support for religious organizations has not declined over the three years of the survey.

The Finland gap

The report flags a decline in monthly giving in Finland, with the proportion of monthly donors dropping from 18% in 2025 to 10% in 2026, compared to roughly one in three donors in the other three countries.

As was the case following the 2025 report, VaLa points to tax policy as a structural factor in the gap, noting its own research findings that more than 30% of Finns say they would give more if donations were tax-deductible, rising to around 45% among younger age groups.

Picture by Lara Jameson via Pexels

The survey of 1,043 adults finds that 56% gave money in the last six months, meaning the figure has returned to 2020 levels, although it remains short of the 63% in 2016, the survey’s first year.

The number giving monthly has also returned to pre-pandemic levels, at 29% – but remains lower than 2016’s 32%. Both monthly and general giving has increased for both men and women, and across all age groups.

Earlier this year, Giva Sverige said that two in three Swedish nonprofits expected their fundraising income to increase during 2026.

A more polarised landscape

Overall sentiment towards nonprofits remains strong – 79% of Swedes hold a positive view of the sector, a figure which was 77% in 2016 and has only changed marginally in the years since. The figure is even higher (88%) for those aged 18-34.

However, the report notes a growing divide between voters who supported the centre-right and nationalist parties who make up the Tidö coalition, which has governed Sweden since 2022, and opposition voters.

While 91% of opposition voters have a positive view of the sector, this drops to 66% among Tidö supporters – and the gap has grown since 2025, when the respective figures were 86% and 71%.

Charlotte Rydh, secretary general of Giva Sverige, writes in the report:

“Differences between voters of the different political blocs show that civil society operates in a more polarised public sphere — a reality that organizations must navigate. We also see a clear shift in what Swedes want civil society to do: from being seen as actors that solve societal challenges and strengthen democracy, to being valued for meeting places and community.”

Rydh’s point about shifting expectations reflects another point in the data.

The proportion of Swedes who say uniting people and creating meeting places and is an important future role for civil society is 32% – more than double the figure of 15% in 2021. The number saying it should help people to have meaningful leisure time has gone from 14% to 18%.

Meanwhile, the proportion saying that nonprofits must support the most vulnerable elsewhere in the world has dropped from 42% to 30%, and those who say it should solve difficult social challenges from 24% to 15%.

Reasons for not giving

The report also looked at the reasons why people gave, and why they did not.

For those who had given in the past six months, there were four main reasons:

• The cause matches my values: 43%
• I have been giving to this organization for a long time: 39%
• I wanted to help make a difference for the recipient of the gift: 38%
• I felt the need was clear/great: 38%

Among Swedes who had not donated in the previous six months, 36% said they couldn’t afford it, and 26% said they thought money wasn’t being spent properly. Nearly a fifth (17%) said they hadn’t been asked.

Picture by mammela on Pixabay

Philanthropy in Europe: Mapping Research and Data on Donations by Households, Bequests, Foundations, Corporations and Charity Lotteries looks at contributions from households, bequests, corporations, foundations, and charity lotteries to provide a comparative overview of philanthropic giving across Europe. An executive summary can be downloaded here, and the full report accessed via this link.

The study findings are based on the best available data from 2022 on philanthropic giving in 23 European countries. Breaking the overall figure of €104.5 billion down, the study reveals that:

• Household giving is the largest and best-documented source of philanthropy, totalling €52 billion across Europe
• Corporate giving amounts to €21.5 billion, though the true figure is likely considerably higher
• Foundation giving reaches €20.6 billion, with Germany and Switzerland home to the most active foundation sectors
• Bequests contribute €8.4 billion and remain significantly under-measured across most of Europe
• Charity lotteries generate €1.9 billion, concentrated in a small number of countries including the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden

The study is edited by Barry Hoolwerf and Johan Vamstad and draws on the expertise of nearly 50 researchers. It maps how philanthropic resources are directed toward a wide range of causes, including health, social services, education, culture, environment, international aid, and community initiatives.

It also provides a systematic assessment of data quality across Europe, stating that the €104.5 billion estimate is a lower-bound figure, with significant amounts of giving remaining invisible due to data gaps and inconsistencies. This, ERNOP says, highlights how differences between countries often reflect differences in data infrastructure as much as differences in generosity.

Barry Hoolwerf, director of ERNOP and co-editor of Philanthropy in Europe said:

“Building on our 2017 Giving in Europe study, this publication again maps the scale of philanthropic giving across Europe. What emerges is a picture of considerable variety and resilience in how philanthropy is expressed across countries. At the same time, our ability to understand it remains uneven — and in some cases appears to be weakening. The gaps in our data are not a footnote; they are a central finding. Strengthening Europe’s philanthropic data infrastructure is not a technical ambition — it is a prerequisite for informed public debate, effective policy, and the long-term development of the sector.”

ERNOP’s 2017 Giving in Europe study estimated philanthropic giving at €87.5 billion in 2013. Although ERNOP states that differences in data availability and methodology limit direct comparison, it notes that the updated figures underline both the scale of philanthropy in Europe and the importance of continued investment in data infrastructure.

Main image: Unsplash Community for Unsplash+