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February 7, 2018Fundraised income increased by 6% in Ireland between 2014 and 2015, reaching a total of €823 million, according to a report by 2into3.
2into3’s The Irish Not-for-Profit Sector: Fundraising Performance Report 2017 shows that the increase in fundraised income was driven by a steep rise in donations to religious organisations. While the majority of organisations in the study’s sample (50.7%) experienced a decrease in fundraised income, the increase by certain subsectors, in particular religion, which saw a 73.9% increase, determined an overall increase. Only three other subsectors experienced an increase: professional/vocational, philanthropy/voluntarism, and social services, while international remained flat.
48% of organisations had an income below €100,000 in 2015, with 12% of Irish not-for-profit organisations reporting income of €1 million or above. The average income in 2015 was €990,900, while the median was €110,783.
Education/research dominated the sector in terms of income, accounting for 33.5% of total income, followed by health, which received 21.3%. In terms of fundraised income, social services received 22c of every €1 raised in 2015, while international organisations received 18c of every €1. Philanthropy/voluntarism as well as religion also received a significant proportion of total fundraised income of 16% and 15% respectively.
The majority of fundraised income for the survey sample came from regular/committed giving (35%) and direct marketing appeals (18%). Local/community fundraising accounted for 9%, while selling something and legacies both accounted for 7% each.
More key findings:
- Average cost to raise €1 in 2015 was 29c
- Staff numbers increased by 4%
- State funding as a % of total income in 2015 was 47.5%, an increase of 4%
- Ireland’s per capita giving is €176; €200 less than of UK giving levels and nearly five times less than the US
This is 2into3’s 7th annual report on fundraising in Ireland. The report is based on analysis of almost 1,300 not-for-profits sector accounts and estimates the total amount of fundraised income and philanthropy in Ireland in 2015.