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

Danish fundraising association and EFA member ISOBRO has published its annual Fundraising Indsigt report, containing essays from nine experts.

The report also stresses that organisations need internal cultures that empower fundraising professionals, better understanding of what motivates different donors, and digital strategies focused on community building and data collection, rather than broadcast advertising.

Lucas Regnér, head of fundraising at sex education charity RFSU, says in his essay that he aims for less than 5% unattributed conversions. He says that without a highly accurate and well-used CRM as part of an integrated data infrastructure, organisations cannot make proper, data-driven decisions.

This data-driven approach must extend to retention, argues Sandra Olsen, private fundraising leader at animal welfare charity Dyrenes Beskyttelse. She calls for sharper segmentation based on donor recency and warmth, with dedicated journeys for first-time donors and tailored reactivation for lapsed supporters.

Jeta Salihu, fundraising manager at Danish Muslim Aid and ISOBRO’s 2025 Fundraiser of the Year, advocates prioritising relationships over acquisition, with loyal donors receiving meaningful community, member events and transparent impact reporting.

Culture and motivation

Delivering on these ambitions requires organisational structures that empower fundraising professionals, argues Lisbet Christoffersen, head of communication, engagement and press at children’s charity Børns Vilkår.

She draws on her organisation’s decade-long journey to embed fundraising as a core discipline. Ten years ago, when Børns Vilkår intensified its fundraising focus, the initiative met internal resistance around costs and tactics.

The breakthrough came through deliberate cultural work. Børns Vilkår appointed “fundraising ambassadors” from other departments to spread positive narratives, and used office design to reinforce the mission with quotes from children helped by its BørneTelefonen service.

In another essay, independent consultant Christian Sophus Ehlers identifies six distinct donor motivations: altruistic, self-interested, identity-based, personally affected, community-oriented, and activist. He says that most organisations only communicate to one or two types.

Sanne Dollerup, partner at marketing agency Institut for Kundetyper, frames donor types through emotional problems they’re solving. She says that many charities focus on donors seeking community or safety, but overlook those motivated by powerlessness.

The report also includes a forward from ISOBRO’s general secretary Kenneth Kamp Butzbach, who writes:

“What they [the nine essays] have in common is a clear recognition: success in 2026 requires more than visibility and volume. It requires understanding, prioritisation and the will to develop our methods.”

Indeed, the current climate is likely to require further innovation from Danish fundraisers in 2026 – in December, Butzbach expressed frustration at recent Government actions which he said “make it harder for organisations to raise money”.

Picture by Getty Images for Unsplash+

This is according to the Tillitsbarometeret (Trust Barometer) 2025, published in August at Arendalsuka, an annual cross-party political event in the country.

Research firm Respons Analyse interviewed 1,000 Norwegian adults on the phone during June and July, and 90% agreed that their level of trust in Norwegian nonprofits was six out of 10 or higher.

This is significantly greater than the next highest institutions – Norwegian trade unions (arbeidstakerorganisasjonene) on 73%, and the country’s parliament (the Stortinget) on 72%. The least trusted of the 12 institutions listed was social media companies, at 10%.

Siri Nodland, secretary general of Fundraising Norge, says that the survey is “a vote of confidence” in the ethics, sustainability and transparency of the nonprofit sector. She comments:

“The trust barometer shows that the population has strong confidence in the nonprofit sector as an important social actor – especially because the organisations often step in where the public sector is not sufficient. In a time of increasing complexity and unrest, people value the community-oriented and responsible work that nonprofit organizations perform on behalf of society.”

Men less trusting, young people more

The survey shows that men (89%) are slightly less trusting of Norway’s nonprofits than women (91%). However, men are in general less trusting of Norwegian institutions – political parties are the only group enjoying higher trust among men (50%) than women (45%).

It also suggests that young Norwegians (aged 18-29) are more trusting than the rest of the population in many institutions. While nine in 10 in this age group trust nonprofits, there is a slightly higher level of trust in the country’s military (92%) – a figure that could be explained by the competitive selection process for national service, for which both men and women can volunteer. The figures for social media are 17% among young men, and 14% among young women.

The survey also shows that trust in the country’s institutions is relatively stable – the only organisation in the survey suffering a decline in trust of more than one percentage point between 2023 and 2025 is the country’s local municipal councils. Their score dropped from 60% in 2023 to 57% in the current survey.

The nonprofit sector’s score has risen slightly from 87% in 2023 and 89% in 2025. The only other sector in whom trust has increased over the last two years is the country’s Government, with a score of 65% (up from 59% in 2023).

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.

This is according to The Deloitte Fundraising Report 2024, produced by Fundraising Norge and Deloitte. The report is based on the finances of 57 of the country’s largest charities, including Stiftelsen Flyktninghjelpen (The Norwegian Refugee Council), with income of NOK 8.1bn for the year, a 5% yearly increase.

Grants from Norwegian authorities to charities rose by 18% to NOK 8.2bn during the year – with around half of that going to the Røde Kors (Red Cross) and Stiftelsen Flyktninghjelpen. However, disregarding donations relating to Ukraine, this income fell by 3%.

Funds from EU, UN and other international bodies also grew to NOK 7.8bn, a 13% year-on-year rise.

The amount of income received from regular donors was NOK 2.55bn in 2023, a 2% rise during the year. This was due to a 14% increase in the number of new regular donors recruited during 2023 versus 2022, while average donations rose very slightly, from NOK 2,158 in 2022 to NOK 2,169 in 2023 – but still slightly lower than the 2,177 figure of 2022.

Income from occasional donors dropped by nearly a quarter, from NOK 985m in 2022 to NOK 777m in 2023.

Contributions from the business world dropped by a similar margin of 27%, to NOK 918m in the year.

The survey also shows that email is now the most used marketing and fundraising channel among Norwegian charities, taking over from Facebook, ahead of the platform winding down its fundraising tool in Europe in 2024.

Looking ahead, nearly one in five (18%) of respondents suggested they would like to use crowdfunding as a fundraising method in future – in addition to 44% who already have done so.

Almost all (95%) of charities in the survey use payment platform Vipps.

Fundraising Europe reported earlier this year that, according to a Vipps survey, Norwegian charity donors have a more pronounced gender split than in other Nordic nations, and were also less interested than their neighbours in environmental causes.

Photo by Christoffer Engstrom on Unsplash

The trend is particularly strong in Norway. An article on the website of Fundraising Norge says that several members have contacted it after noticing that regular gifts were being cancelled through subscription management apps created by companies including Minna Technologies, which is based in Sweden, and Subaio, from Denmark. They are made available to customers through partnerships with banks.

One charity has lost 1,000 direct debit donors over three months thanks to these apps, Fundraising Norge says, while others are losing 50 or more per week.

ISOBRO, an EFA member representing charities in Denmark, said it had not seen the trend on such a large scale, but is aware of the issue.

Fundraising Norge says that while these apps distinguish between non-discretionary (tax, electricity bills and so on) and discretionary spending (Netflix and other subscriptions), they put charitable donations into the same category as those discretionary subscriptions.

Siri Nodland, secretary general of Fundraising Norge, says that these services appear to have “little understanding of the relationship between a donor and an organisation”, commenting:

“We react [negatively] to the banks telling their customers that they no longer ‘need’ to support an organisation. Supporting a non-profit organisation is not something you do to meet your own needs – you do it voluntarily to help others.”

Fundraising Norge has been requesting meetings with banks, but says that DNB is the only bank that “shows an understanding” of the sector’s concerns in this area.

Nodland also says that some charities believe that supporters had accidentally or unintentionally cancelled a recurring payment. She urges Fundraising Norge members to continue to send it evidence about direct debit cancellations, and the impact this has had on services and operations.

Meanwhile, Kenneth Kamp Butzbach, secretary general of ISOBRO, said:

“We are aware that it has become a business for some companies to charge for cancelling people’s subscriptions. Fortunately, it is not something we have seen on a large scale in Denmark yet, and we must honestly say that it is surprising to make a business out of something that all donors can do themselves either directly with the organization or through their bank.”

Main image by Rupixen on Pixabay

Vipps MobilePay commissioned the first Nordic Donor Survey of 4,000 people – 1,000 in each of the four Nordic nations. In total, 61% of Danes said they donate money regularly or occasionally, compared to 59% of Norwegians, 56% of Swedes and 42% of Finns.

In each country, women were more likely than men to donate, although the split was most pronounced in Norway (64% versus 54%) and more marginal in Sweden (57% versus 55%).

Asked which causes they had given money to in the last two months, ‘helping the disadvantaged in the home country’ was the top answer in Finland (38% of respondents who recently donated) and Denmark (27%), followed by ‘humanitarian aid and disasters’ with 21% and 26% respectively. Humanitarian aid and disasters was the number one answer in Norway (29%) and Sweden (28%).

Finns were more likely than others to have recently put money in a collection box, while Danes were the most likely to have given money via a mobile payment in the last two months.

In each of the four countries, more than a quarter of people said they had donated clothes or goods to a charity in the last two months ­– ranging from 26% in Finland to 31% in Sweden.

Looking ahead

Responding to questions about intended future giving, those in Sweden expressed growing interest in donating to animal welfare causes. Lower-income respondents from Sweden were also more likely to list a broader range of potential future causes.

Those in Finland (in particular younger Finns) also showed increased interest in animal welfare, while environmental and nature protection causes were significantly less interesting to those in Norway.

In Denmark, art and culture organisations were notably low on donors’ future giving lists, which the survey authors suggested might be the result of recent changes to the way foundations in Denmark support cultural activity.

Pia Tornikoski, general secretary of Finnish EFA member VaLa, comments:

“The fact that Finland may have less of a giving culture than its Nordic neighbours is in part because public funding has historically been more important to nonprofits, alongside the fact that only companies, and not individual Finns, can receive tax deductions when donating. With public funding streams drying up, the Government proposals to reform tax deduction rules become particularly important in harnessing the generosity which we know exists in the country.”

More on Finland’s tax deduction rules here.

Picture by Merja Partanen on Pixabay

Currently, more than 4,000 donations are made every day through the Vipps/MobilePay mobile app, but identifying the actual donors is currently very difficult for charities.

The company is now working to enable charities to see the mobile numbers of donors, so that they can both thank donors, and gather information about tax incentives. The plan was announced to Fundraising Norway members at its annual meeting in late May.

Fundraising Norway is supporting Vipps/MobilePay to ensure a solution which is compliant with Norway’s opt-out approach to GDPR. The solution should later be rolled out to Denmark, Finland and Sweden.

This is part of a wider collaboration between the fintech and the fundraising body, the ultimate aim of which is to develop new tools and solutions to help nonprofits improve both their profile and their income. An announcement from Fundraising Norway says:

“Our common goal is to strengthen the voluntary and non-profit sector in Norway and make it easier for people to donate to the causes they believe in.”

Fundraising Norway secretary general Siri Nodlands adds:

“This is a unique opportunity to explore new ideas and collaboration possibilities.”

Vipps/MobilePay has more than 11 million users, including 4.3m of Norway’s 5.4m population. The company was created by the merger in November 2022 of Norwegian company Vipps and Danish firm MobilePay.

Picture by Pexels on Pixabay

Fundraising Norway, which represents 122 members including the Red Cross, the Cancer Society, Amnesty and SOS Children’s Villages, is asking the Parliament to keep the tax deduction at 2021’s level or risk disadvantaging the country’s nonprofits and those they support.

The proposal is to offer full VAT compensation instead, but in a written response to the government’s consultation on the proposal, signed by secretary general Siri Nodland (pictured), Fundraising Norway states that while it understands that the Parliament`s proposal is aimed at reducing the tax deductions available to the country’s wealthiest citizens, it believes such a move will instead harm the more vulnerable in society. While full VAT compensation would be welcomed, it would not mitigate the impact of halving the tax deduction.

It also cautions that tax deductions for gifts are proven to work well as an incentive for increasing donations from both individuals and businesses to the nonprofit sector, and that ambitions for the sector to play a greater role in contributing to better public health and welfare are at odds with the proposed change. In fact, figures quoted in its response show that the number of taxpayers participating in the scheme has grown over the years: 282,000 took part in 2003, rising to just over 750,000 taxpayers in 2016.

Commenting on the proposals, Siri Nodland said:

“The proposal that is now on the table is a big step in the wrong direction from a government aiming to provide a good framework for financing voluntary organisations.

“The tax deduction scheme stimulates private donors. The income from private donors is as much as 44% according to Statistics Norway. These revenues give nonprofit organisations more financial independence, supporting core activities, and giving increased freedom to work towards their aims. At the same time, these are funds that can be used for development and innovation, for example to follow society’s digital development.”

“We have asked the Parliament to reconsider and think about the effect on society. For this is not a good redistribution policy. On the contrary – here the government hits the very weakest and those without a voice in the public debate. It is the good causes that will be affected by this change – not the richest in society.”

Picture by Ingvild Vaale Arnesen

Karl Rohde-Naess, Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation

Karl Rohde-Næss, marketing manager at the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation and chair of the working committee, says:
“For face-to-face to be a success, it’s critical that the public is safe and feels safe. And the same applies to fundraisers too. So, this meant waiting for the right time to relaunch face-to-face and rethinking the way we do it.
 
“We waited until hairdressers were open again, on the assumption that if people were happy to get close enough for a haircut, then they would be more likely to feel comfortable about talking with fundraisers. Most fundraisers didn’t wear face masks or shields as there was no directive from the Government on this and we had worries that knocking on people’s door with a face covering could feel intimidating for the public, but many wear muffs that can be worn around the neck and pulled up when needed.
 
“One of the biggest challenges is for fundraisers to learn to keep their distance. Prospective supporters often step forward during the conversation into the ‘no-go zone’ and it can be difficult for fundraisers, who are used to working hard to engage the public in conversation, to discourage them. That’s where specific practice and training has been so important, helping them know how to handle it and what to say.”
 

Findings from the F2F trials
During the trials, which were conducted this May, one in every 8 conversations recruited a supporter, compared with one in 10 in 2019. Fundraisers reported that interactions in shopping centres and stands on the street were more likely to be positive than conversations held on the doorstep (79% vs 58%). While 12% of the public proactively commented on how good it was to see fundraisers back in action, only 3% made a negative remark.
 
While door-to-door fundraising had a higher sign-up rate ahead of the pandemic, now it is fundraising stands that are yielding stronger results. The tests saw one supporter recruited for every six conversations at a fundraising stand and one for 10 conversations on the doorstep.
 
Rohde-Næss adds:
“We were really surprised by the results; how responsive the public have been and how keen they were to talk.
 
“But the trials did pick up a level of fear among fundraisers that needed to be addressed. Every tenth fundraiser experienced some kind of concern during the process and we worked hard to identify what was the critical moment that made them feel that way. Mostly, it was the actual signing up process. So, we changed the methodology, offering a touch-free solution with software that enabled the donor to complete a declaration on their own mobile device and transmit it back to the fundraiser’s iPad. This helped fundraisers feel much more safe during the process.
 
“We also developed badges stating ‘We keep our distance’. This was a reassuring message to convey to the public, while also discouraging them from stepping forward. Regularly cleaning hands and equipment visibly in front of supporters also helped to reinforce the message.”
 
The national guidelines are now in place across Norway and the committee will continue to monitor feedback from the public as the F2F market opens more fully. Further findings are being presented at the Global F2F Fundraising Summit; a virtual event on 3 June, coordinated by the International F2F Congress Committee, Fundraising Association Austria and hosted by Fundraising Everywhere.
 
Related article: New quality standards for F2F fundraising in a socially distanced world