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.” 

In France, the Association Française des Fundraisers (AFF) has secured re-certification of its Certificat Français du Fundraising (CFF) under the Standard Competence Framework for the seventh time.

Commenting, Yaële Aferiat, director of the AFF, said the renewed certification of the programme, which is delivered in partnership with the ESSEC Philanthropy Chair, was a significant recognition of the quality and relevance of the programme at an international level, and strengthens its legitimacy within a network of leading European organisations committed to excellence in fundraising education.

She added:

“This renewal also reflects the AFF’s ongoing commitment to evolve alongside the sector. As fundraising continues to transform in an increasingly complex and demanding environment, new professional profiles are emerging. Fundraisers today need to combine strong strategic thinking with advanced relational skills, to navigate the growing role of data and technologies such as AI, and demonstrate resilience in a rapidly changing world. Throughout these changes, we remain deeply committed to placing ethics and meaningful human relationships at the core of our approach. This certification highlights both the strength of our programme in a competitive landscape and our dedication to continuous improvement.”

In Switzerland, the Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS) Fundraising Management has achieved re-certification for the fifth time, alongside a first-time certification of the Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) Fundraising Management under the Advanced Competence Framework. The MAS programme is the only Swiss course accredited at this advanced level and is designed for professionals and managers who wish to assume responsibility in fundraising or prepare specifically for such a role. Both are delivered by the ZHAW Center for Arts Management in partnership with Swissfundraising.

The certification committee praised the Swiss Advanced programme, noting:
“Overall, the programme represents a model of excellence in advanced professional education, combining academic rigour, ethical awareness, and practical relevance. Continuous improvement through stakeholder feedback and international benchmarking further reinforces its commitment to quality and innovation.”

Prof. Dr. Leticia Labaronne, head of the Centre for Arts Management and head of the DAS and MAS Fundraising Management Programme commented on the importance of the recognition, saying:

“We are extremely proud that our fundraising programme — the only fundraising education programme in Switzerland to hold EFA accreditation — has been accredited by the European Fundraising Association since 2012. This renewed recognition of our Fundraising Diploma under the Standard Framework, together with the Fundraising Master Programme’s new certification under the distinguished Advanced Framework, reflects our long-standing commitment to excellence, innovation, and the highest international standards in fundraising education.”

EFA Certification

EFA’s Standard and Advanced frameworks define core competencies and provide structured guidance for education and practice. The EFA Certification Standard Competence Framework has been providing fundraisers with a professional qualification that is recognised both across Europe and internationally since 2007. EFA introduced the Advanced Competence Framework in 2022, which focuses specifically on the competencies and skills required for leading and managing a successful, contemporary fundraising organization.

With 14 accredited courses currently across Europe, the latest certifications reinforce the growing emphasis on high-quality, internationally benchmarked training for fundraising professionals.

Committee chair Pia Tornikoski commented:

“Fundraising as a profession varies across countries, and EFA’s Standard and Advanced Frameworks emphasise core competencies shared across the continent while allowing the flexibility to adapt programmes to national contexts.

“Reviewing the certification applications is both a rewarding task and a learning experience for committee members. I am glad that through the wide expertise of the committee we are also able to support and guide applicants during the process.”

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.

The Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising regulation (TTPA) came into force on 10 October 2025. To assess its impact, earlier this year EFA surveyed 170 organizations across 12 EU countries. The findings are published in the report When mission messages are blocked, causes lose reach, voice and income.

Out of the 170 organizations:

• 57.6% reported an impact on online advertising
• Among follow-up respondents, 47.0% reported a decline in online donation revenue, with 18.4% experiencing a sharp decline
• Most notably, 87.8% said the main impact concerned their freedom of expression and ability to act as NGOs

The survey indicates that these effects are interconnected, simultaneously impacting fundraising performance, supporter growth, and civic voice. Four key areas are particularly affected: fundraising, reach, advocacy and public education, and organizational behaviour.

Commenting on the findings, Laurence Lepetit, EFA vice president / EFA public affairs, said:

“The report documents a clear and damaging pattern: that enforcement mainly by META platforms linked to TTPA is not only filtering political advertising, but also suppressing legitimate nonprofit communication, fundraising and public-interest advocacy across Europe.”

Also included in the report are concrete examples from across Europe. These include a Finnish Red Cross appeal featuring a Ukrainian refugee that was blocked as political content, and a family reunification message by Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado (CEAR) in Spain that was rejected on the grounds that it addressed a “social issue.”

The report brings together data, cross-country trends, and real-world cases of blocked or misclassified content. This strengthens EFA’s position in discussions with EU institutions and regulators to restore full freedom of expression and action for European public-interest organisations, in line with the European strategy for civil society.

When mission messages are blocked, causes lose reach, voice and income is available here.

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.

This year’s programme brings together leading experts, researchers, consultants, and practitioners to discuss how we build a stronger, more effective fundraising profession in Europe.

The symposium opens with a keynote from Bill Stanczykiewicz of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. In “Philanthropy, Passion & Resilience,” Stanczykiewicz will explore how philanthropy continues to strengthen communities, improve lives, and promote justice during challenging times, while highlighting the latest findings of the Global Philanthropy Environment Index, with a special focus on Europe

A strong focus throughout the symposium is the future of fundraising education and capacity building. Giedrė Šopaitė of Baltic Fundraising Hub will present a structured, competency-based approach to assessing and developing fundraising capacity in her session “Assessing Fundraising Competencies: From Intuition to Strategic Team Development.” Drawing on Lithuania’s national programme, participants will gain practical tools for identifying strengths, addressing gaps, and aligning teams with strategic goals.

Questions around learning and professional development continue in sessions led by Nele Theuer of BIBB and Heike Kraack-Tichy of emcra. Theuer’s workshop, “Challenges And Potentials Of Education In Fundraising” will explore findings from the study “Education and Training in the German Fundraising Sector”, encouraging participants to reflect on how educational needs are changing across the profession and the developments required to meet them. Kraack-Tichy’s interactive session, “Should I Forget What I Know? Rethinking How Fundraisers Learn,” will explore the evolving demands on fundraisers and the skills, mindsets, and formats needed to stay effective in a rapidly changing world. It will also challenge traditional approaches to professional development, asking what still works — and what doesn’t.

Leadership and recruitment are also key themes. In “Who Is Leading Fundraising In A Charity? Who Is Delivering Service To Charity Clients? Recruiting Insights” Jeanette Eesmann-Foster, Zoe Oldham, and moderator Pia Tornikoski will share recruitment insights into the skills and knowledge fundraising leaders need to succeed in today’s evolving nonprofit landscape.

Finally, Mary O’Kennedy and Martin Georgi will present findings from a Europe-wide EUConsult study in “Bridging The Gap Through Learning: Aligning Consultant Skills With Nonprofit Needs,” examining how consultancy skills and training can better support nonprofit organisations in a rapidly changing environment.

If you influence fundraising talent, strategy, or professional development, this Symposium is for you, offering valuable opportunities to learn, connect, and shape the future of the sector.

Find out more and register 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.”