Private funding to grow amongst Finnish NGOs, research reveals

Private funding is set to increase amongst NGOs in Finland, according to research from market research company Taloustutkimus.

Taloustutkimus interviewed 121 nonprofit organisations in April this year, 93% of which had received public funding over the past year, with their reported fundraising targets from private sources having doubled since 2014.

The research reveals that with public funding decreasing, interest in corporate partnerships in particular is rising, with 32% of NGOs planning to focus most heavily on corporate sponsoring and partnerships, up from 14% in 2014. In addition many plan to invest in single donations (39%) and membership fees (21%) as well as in events and product sales (18%).

However, increasing private funding is not without its challenges. The research reveals that a lack of human resources (39%), and the general economic situation (21% – up from 5% in 2014) are considered the biggest issues. Application and reporting processes for governmental funding are also proving difficult: 60% of respondents, up from 32% in 2014, had experienced problems with these processes.

Pia Tornikoski, secretary general of the Finnish Fundraising Association (VaLa), said:

“Last autumn, the Finnish government significantly cut public funding to the international aid and development sector. The government has also stressed the importance of co-operation between the public and private sector, including civil society. This is reflected in the survey results although NGOs need to be aware that raising funds through corporate partnerships is challenging.”