Swedish charities less positive overall, but hopeful of corporate income

Leaders of charities in Sweden feel increasingly pessimistic about the future of their organisations and the sector as a whole, a Giva Sverige study in collaboration with PwC says.

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.