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

The Government’s September budget proposed that each year, companies could receive tax relief at the same rate as corporation tax (currently 20.6%). This would apply to donations totalling up to SEK 800,000 (€72,600), with a minimum eligible donation of SEK 2,000 (€182).

This offers larger benefits than the proposal of a recent Government inquiry, which suggested a 25% tax reduction on gifts up to SEK 200,000, and then 5% on further donations up to SEK 400,000.

However, the budget’s proposal only relates to donations to nonprofit organisations carrying out social assistance activities, or promoting scientific research.

Charlotte Rydh, secretary general of Giva Sverige, welcomes the more generous deduction rate, but is concerned about its narrow scope. She says:

“The government’s proposal in the budget bill is a welcome step that can make a real difference for parts of the non-profit sector. The raised ceiling and the simplified model send a clear signal that donations from companies are an important part of financing the activities of non-profit organizations for a democratic and robust society.

“At the same time, we see that the proposal still limits the potential by continuing to exclude more purposes from the tax reduction.”

However, Giva Sverige notes that a current investigation by the Government into the financing of the cultural sector suggests that there is scope for more charitable purposes to be added into the new tax reduction.

As in many other countries, Sweden’s charity sector is facing financial challenges. As reported in Fundraising Europe previously, Giva Sverige found in a summer survey that a fifth of Swedish nonprofits had to reduce their operations during the first half of the year. Earlier in the year, another report found that the number of Swedes giving money to charity (53%) was recovering, but still significantly below where it was 10 years ago (63%).

Picture by ptrpl4 on Unsplash

In Sweden, fraudsters have been going door-to-door and appear to be “well-prepared” and are using “fake logos on websites and printed materials”, a warning on Giva Sverige’s website says. It continues:

“Giva Sverige takes very seriously the fact that fraudsters exploit people’s willingness to give, as it risks undermining trust in nonprofits and affecting the willingness to get involved.”

In its article, Giva Sverige article provides six tips for members of the public to help keep them safe from fraudulent fundraisers, including making sure that the purported organisation uses a well-known payment solution and asking whether it is a member of Giva Sverige.

Meanwhile, a Facebook post by the Malta Red Cross said it had been “alerted to unauthorised solicitations for donations allegedly on behalf of the Red Cross”.

It published a pixellated photo of a woman appearing to approach workers in a shop with a clipboard listing donations.

The Malta Red Cross says that its fundraising activity “is always clearly communicated through our official channels”, and advises anyone suspecting fraudulent activity to report it to the authorities.

Fundraising fraud is a regular concern in a number of other countries, both online and via face-to-face activity. In March, the British charity Disability Rights UK alerted the public and police to a case of fraudsters pretending to be deaf and using sign language as part of a sham collection, according to Civil Society News.

Picture by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

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

The study is based on a sample size of 1,000 people aged 18+ from each country, and covers: donor behaviour, ways of participating with charities, channels used, and future giving.

The survey, carried out for the second year in a row, was commissioned by Giva Sverige (Sweden), ISOBRO (Denmark), VaLa (Finland) and Fundraising Norway.

Donation frequency

Across all four countries, Denmark remains the most generous country in the region with 67% of people donating at least occasionally: an increase from 61% in 2024. Danish nonprofits also seem to be reaching new target groups with an increase in giving among men and individuals aged 30-39 and 60+, and more men (69%) than women (65%) now donating at least occasionally. In 2024 58% of men said they gave at least occasionally, compared to 64% of women.

In Norway, where 66% donate at least occasionally, the study indicates a greater age difference in donation frequency compared to other Nordic countries, with older donors (aged 60+) more likely to give on a regular basis at 81% of this age group (up from 64% in 2024), compared to 65% of both 40-49-year-olds and 50-59-year-olds (up from 54% and 60% respectively last year).

Over in Sweden (where 64% give at least occasionally), the study indicates that an improved economy has resulted in more giving among some donor groups. More women (67%) in the country now give than men (60%), although both have risen since last year, from 57% and 55% respectively. Giving has also risen across all age groups, except the youngest (18-29), and is highest among Swedes aged 60+ at 74% of this age group. The Nordic Donor Survey broadly confirms the results from Giva Sverige’s latest survey on giving in Sweden, which also showed giving was on the up.

Mårten Palmefors, senior analyst, Giva Sverige, says:

“A better economy will have the greatest impact on groups living on the margins, which includes many pensioners, for example. We already know that the willingness to donate is high at that age, and it is clear that when the economy has swung in a more positive direction, many older people return to giving gifts again.”

In Finland, where 50% donate at least occasionally (up from 42% in 20240, there is also difference in generosity between men and women, with 43% of men saying they donate at least occasionally compared to 57% of women. Giving has risen more among women than men – in 2024, 44% of women said they gave, compared to 40% of men. Giving has also risen significantly among some age groups: in 2024, 39% of 30-39-year-olds, and 46% of people aged 60+ gave at least occasionally. This year, rates have risen to 50% and 61% respectively.

Instead of donating money, Finns are slightly more active than other Nordic countries in participating in charity in other ways, such as donating clothes or goods or doing volunteer work (15% vs. 9–14%).

Pia Tornikoski, Secretary General of Finland’s VaLa ry comments:

“Although we are quite far behind other Nordic countries in terms of donation results, the desire to participate in charity is also high here.

She adds:

“The differences with our neighbouring countries can be explained, for example, by the general economic situation, donation traditions, and legislative differences. Finns have fewer opportunities to deduct donation amounts in taxes than in other countries. I am glad that Finland is also currently investigating the expansion of the current tax deduction practice. State support would be a good incentive to promote our donation culture.”

Most popular methods of support

The study also asked people how they support good causes. Donating clothes or goods was popular across all four countries, as was buying an organization’s product or raffle.

Top 3 activities per country

• Norway: 1. giving donations of clothes or products (32%); 2. buying an organization’s product or raffle (32%); 3. Supporting as a monthly donor or sponsor (27%).
• Finland: 1. giving donations of clothes or products (28%); 2. buying an organization’s product or raffle (17%); 3. making a donation to an organization’s bank account (16%).
• Sweden: 1. giving donations of clothes or products (37%); 2. buying an organization’s product or raffle (34%); 3. making a donation via mobile payment (22%).
• Denmark: 1. giving donations of clothes or products (29%); 2. buying an organization’s product or raffle (24%); 3. supporting as a monthly donor or sponsor (26%)

Most common causes

The most common cause across all four countries was humanitarian aid and disasters, which rose 4% year on year, to 30% of respondents.

Helping the most disadvantaged was the second most commonly supported cause (26%), followed by helping the most vulnerable in developing countries (18%).

Other causes that saw growth were development of health-promoting methods and methods for treating diseases – up 4% to 17% of respondents; and exercise and sports – up 5% to 14% of respondents. 11% said they had supported environmental and nature protection nonprofits.

In a blog on the results, Fundraising Norway general secretary Siri Nodland comments:

“Norwegians have increasingly prioritized giving to humanitarian disasters, national and domestic causes, and international aid. Support for humanitarian disasters has grown from 29% in 2024 to 37% in 2025, and support for national and domestic causes has increased from 18% to 24%. We also see a clear shift towards prioritizing safety and rescue operations, while interest in animal welfare has declined significantly.”

Read the full report summary here, along with more information on the findings for Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

1 in 4 (24%) give every month, and the report also reveals that older people are giving more, which it says can be partly explained by improved economic conditions such as increased pensions in 2024.

Giving is lower among young Swedes and people with a low income – 60% of 18-34 year olds say they don’t donate money because they can’t afford it, compared to 31% of people aged 65-84.

The proportion of women who give to nonprofits remains the same as ten years ago, while among men it has fallen.

Charlotte Rydh, secretary general at Giva Sverige, comments:

“It is gratifying to see an increase in the proportion of Swedes who give, even though we are still some way from reaching previous levels. At the same time, total funds raised are increasing, which shows that existing donors are giving more. Long-term support from donors is crucial for nonprofit organizations to be able to meet the enormous needs both in Sweden and globally.

“We see that older people who previously reduced their giving now have the opportunity to contribute again and choose to do so, which is gratifying. However, nonprofit organizations need to work more to reach younger generations.”

The most popular causes, as in previous reports, are international aid, and research.

Overall, more than half of those questioned for the report said they planned to give in 2025, and 8 out of 10 Swedes have a positive image of nonprofit organizations – stable since 2016.

The report also shows that on average, Swedes believe that 58 kronor out of a hundred kronor goes to the cause, but that a reasonable level should be 83 kronor. This is slightly above the level required of tax-exempt nonprofit organizations by tax legislation, which is 75-80% of a donation.

Rydh adds:

“It is clear that the public has high expectations of how donations are used, which is good. It should be easy to see the results and effects of the organizations’ work. Donors and other stakeholders should feel secure that the organizations have order in their operations and manage money well. You should simply feel secure with your giving.”

Giva Sverige partners with Novus to conduct the annual online survey, using Novus’s nationally representative Swedish panel of 18-84-year-olds. This year’s survey took place in January and February and includes a total of 1,043 interviews with a participation rate of 57%.

This preliminary forecast comes from its latest quarterly data, which shows that 70% of members report an increase in public gifts for 2024 compared to 2023. Meanwhile, 57% saw increased legacy giving.

Between 2022 and 2023, corporate giving dropped by more than a third to SEK 1.1bn. For 2024, corporate giving remained “stable but shows no signs of increasing at the moment”, according to Charlotte Rydh, secretary general of Giva Sverige.

Giva Sverige says that the increase was modest for many charities, with middle-sized charities – those raising SEK 25m to 99m annually – performing most strongly across the year. Larger organisations saw more growth during the second half of the year, and were also more likely than middle-sized ones to report an increase in legacy income.

The 5% preliminary forecast for growth means that the sector has regained much of the ground lost in the previous year – in 2023, Swedish charities reported an average 12% drop in donations. That followed a particularly strong 2022, during which Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted many extra donations.

Reflecting on this preliminary data Rydh, who was also EFA president from 2021 to 2024, says:

“It is fantastic to see that the commitment of Swedes continues to be strong. The needs both in Sweden and in the world are enormous right now and the long-term support of donors is more important than ever.”

Giva Sverige says that the full data will be published in May.

Picture by by Jasper Graetsch on Unsplash

Patrik Nygren-Bonnier, who leads communications and fundraising at the Swedish Red Cross (Svenska Röda Korset) describes this rule in Trendrapport 2025, a collection of seven short essays on 2025 trends by charity leaders compiled by EFA member Giva Sverige.

Nygren-Bonnier writes that fundraising teams face a challenge to “adapt and utilise the changing behaviors of the target groups and their demands for more flexible forms of engagement”, in order to grow in what is a “stagnant” environment for regular private giving. He describes how his team is doing this, saying:

“Our communications and fundraising department has implemented an agile organisation for the past four years to create a faster, more flexible and more efficient organization. We talk about 70-20-10 – 70 percent continuing with what works, 20 percent developing and testing within what already works, and 10 percent doing something new; innovation.”

Current innovation includes using AI to help predict which fundraising prospects might have the highest lifetime value, Nygren-Bonnier notes. Svenska Röda Korset, he writes, is also testing whether sorting donated clothes with AI can increase the proportion of items which are sold rather than recycled to increase income for the charity.

As well as encouraging fundraisers to look closely at the various forms of data available, he warns against teams being distracted by gimmicks, saying:

“It’s very tempting to throw yourself headlong into the hunt for creative and fun activities… but for those of us who work in civil society, it’s not just about being able to engage and help in the short term sometimes. We need to be persistent and long term. That’s how we engage and help more people, and that’s how we build trust.”

The other six contributors to the Trendrapport 2025 are two university researchers, leaders of three varied Swedish charities, and Eva Aldrich, CEO of fundraising certification body CFRE International.

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

“A common thread among the writers in Trend Report 2025 is that both organizations and professionals need to look inward and search for solutions in, and for, ourselves. It is both a challenge and a call for all of us to continuously reconsider and develop our activities to engage people from all walks of life and all ages, for a more sustainable and inclusive Sweden. Whatever we do, we cannot stand still!”

But the survey of 208 sector leaders, Utmaningar och möjligheter för civilsamhället (Challenges and opportunities for civil society), does highlight growing optimism for corporate fundraising as an income stream.

One in six (17%) of respondents said they felt negative about the future of their organisation in the next three to five years, up from 4% in the first survey in 2018. Meanwhile, only 14% feel ‘very positive’, down from 32% in 2018 – while 47% said they felt positive, versus 52% six years ago.

Asked about the sector as a whole, 35% currently expect it to decrease in size in the next half decade (versus 12% in 2018), and just 21% expect growth (39% in 2018).

Corporate fundraising hopes

Income from companies – whether through collaborations, sponsorships or other relationships – was the fundraising stream seen as providing the best future opportunities by leaders in the survey.

Nearly half (48%) said they expected more corporate income for their organisation in the next three to five years, a slightly higher figure than the 47% seeing growth in public fundraising, while 21% expected increased public sector income.

However, respondents were more optimistic regarding their own specific organisation than they were for the sector as a whole – just 36% said the next three to five years would see increase corporate income across the charity sector, with the figure dropped to 31% to public fundraising, and to just 8% for public sector income.

The survey also asked for charity leaders’ view of what companies expect when collaborating. The three most common answers were:

• Strengthened brand: 89%
• Contribute to positive social developments: 85%
• Positive media attention: 63%

Other outcomes included employee engagement (52%); access to new markets or customers (36%) and employee volunteering (35%).

In response to another question, charity leaders said that their ability to partner with the private sector was improving. This year, 55% said they felt they were good at delivering concrete benefits to business partners (up from 49% in 2023); and 48% said that they were good at using their corporate partners’ skills and networks to achieve greater impact (42% in 2023).

Charlotte Rydh, Secretary General of Giva Sverige, comments:

“It is clear that civil society is facing a turbulent time. Despite the challenges, there is a strength and willingness to explore other sources of funding, something that is crucial to maintaining a strong and viable civil society.”

Picture by by Bárbara Cascão on Pixabay.