The report asked 807 organisations questions including their digital communications and fundraising priorities for the next 12 months.

Growing reach, presence and engagement was the top answer (59% of respondents), followed by increasing online fundraising income (51%); using data to better understand and engage with supporters (43%); revamping their website (36%) and developing content to improve visibility in AI search tools (29%).

Larger charities placed a greater emphasis on improving supporter engagement (57%) and improving AI search visibility (45%), while smaller charities generally had a smaller group of priorities, with growing reach and presence still the most common goal overall (60%).

Young supporters: low priority

The report’s authors say that they were “surprised that, once again, growing a young supporter base was only a priority for a small proportion of charities – 25%, similar to 2025 data and identical for both large and small charities”.

This figure rises to 31% among charities identifying children and young people as a core target group, and to 45% of charities led by what it calls “global majority communities” (i.e. with leaders or founders from minoritised ethnic groups).

AI uses

The report also looks at how charities are using AI organisationally, with the top five applications being:

1. Administration and project management: 63% (versus 48% in 2025’s report)
2. Grant fundraising: 45% (2025: 36%), rising to 52% among smaller charities
3. Social media: 39% (2025: 36%)
4. Communications and fundraising: 36% (2025: 34%)
5. Monitoring and evaluation: 31% (2025: 17%)

It flags that 58% of grantmaking organisations responding to the survey say that AI appears to be changing their applications – either increasing the volume of applications, or making them more repetitive.

However, 55% of grantmakers in the report said they weren’t sure how many of their applicants were using AI, and 19% said they thought none were.

Digital capacity lacking

The report expresses concerns about a lack of digital skill in charities’ leadership, saying that 46% of respondents (rising to 49% among smaller charities) do not have a trustee or board member with digital skills.

It also shows that only 22% of small charities and 37% of larger charities accessed funding towards digital costs in the last year. For 2026, 59% say that building skills of staff, volunteers and leaders is a priority, a significant jump from 43% in 2025.

Consultants and co-authors Zoe Amar and Nissa Ramsay write in the report foreword:

“Funders and support organisations must define their roles in supporting charities as AI and digital creates far-reaching changes across their work and society.

“Our data shows that charities are making digital and AI progress despite the huge financial and service demands they are facing. The fact that charities have achieved this growth, when the odds are against them, indicates that charities could increase their impact even further if funders step up to help charities at this critical stage in digital and AI development.”

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.” 

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 digital landscape for charities has shifted from a static, ad hoc reflection of their offline marketing (Facebook ads based on your direct mail pack, anyone?), to a complicated, highly regulated environment defined by privacy walls and platform restrictions that leave us wondering where to go next.

Between 2020 and 2025, Meta and Google introduced sweeping changes that have torn up our traditional fundraising playbooks. Yet despite these hurdles, digital fundraising continues to be a huge opportunity for charities to win new supporters and raise more money, as long as we’re willing to evolve our strategies.

The new reality: platform restrictions on ‘social issues’

For years, charities advertising on digital channels relied on granular audience targeting to find new supporters. But despite the huge alarm bells around political ad bans in October 2025, Meta actually began removing thousands of audience targeting options related to health, religion, sexuality and more as far back as 2020.

This was followed by Apple’s 2021 iOS 14 update, which effectively blinded advertisers from using behaviour by allowing consumers to ‘Ask App Not To Track’.

From 2025, the restrictions have deepened significantly. Meta introduced further data-sharing limitations on any advertiser promoting “Medical Conditions” and “Religious Beliefs”, among many other areas that charities work hard to support.

Then, in October 2025, a major regulatory change led Meta and Google to ban and block what they define as ‘social issues’ advertising across the EU. This has left charities scrambling to find new ways to communicate about their life-changing work online and, crucially, to continue to find supporters in this new digital landscape.

The 2-step solution: mastering the middle of the funnel

All of these changes have meant that charity comms and advertising are getting less and less effective at the top of the funnel (awareness) and the bottom (direct conversion). The top of the funnel often suffers from high competition and a broad reach that doesn’t convert, while the bottom of the funnel is plagued by the rising cost per acquisition (CPA) caused by Meta’s never-ending changes. Charities must now master the “middle”.

In the middle, our goal is to grow our first-party data. By building a list of active, engaged supporter email addresses, which the organisation owns, charities can bring their supporters’ experience back under their control. You control the message. You own the relationship.

We call it the Mobilisation Model:

• Attract supporters in the middle of the funnel, using lead generation campaigns to reach and engage supporters at scale.
• Drive action by making it easy to give and give again, while sharing their voice and being an active member of your community.
• Grow your impact by maintaining contact: send more emails, more often, to drive long-term financial support.

By focusing on list growth, charities can acquire just as many donors, at competitive CPAs, but with the added benefit of thousands of contacts on their charity’s file who have raised their hand and said they’re ready to help create change.

Optimising your storytelling for digital

In the new digital landscape, the quality of your storytelling and your content becomes the primary driver of your success. When it comes to telling stories, many charities focus heavily on the “What”: the specific work they do. To cut through in digital, charities must optimise their storytelling to focus on the “Why”: the fundamental reason your organisation exists. This part of your story is often forgotten.

Authenticity is another big part of this storytelling shift. High-production, polished ads are often outperformed by authentic stories and raw images. Content needs to feel truly ‘social’, or audiences will ignore it.

Just like any other fundraising, tangibility plays a crucial role in conversion. The best performing campaigns will connect the dots between the urgent need, the impactful solution, and the simple, clear action that the supporter can take.

Innovation with more meaningful engagement: leads

To grow your file of first-party data, leading charities are moving beyond the “Donate” button and towards meaningful, engaging lead magnets that connect your audience to the causes they care about.

• It can be as simple as a hand-raiser: a values-led proposition that invites potential supporters to join your mission and make a change.
• Digital guides can help educate, inform or empower your supporter to bring your work to life in their day-to-day, like safe protest guides, sustainable living guides and more.
• Quizzes and games challenge your supporters to become closer to the reality of the work your organisation does on the front line.
• Charities are increasingly looking to spark conversations with their supporters through WhatsApp and chatbots, creating immersive, fictionalised experiences that bring their work to life.

So, what does ‘good’ look like?

By shifting to the Mobilisation Model, charities can move away from the volatility of acquiring ‘cold’ donors in a digital landscape that is constantly changing, and towards a more predictable part of the funnel.

Typical lead generation might see an average cost per lead (CPL) of £1-£4. Combine this with automated email journeys, and these leads can convert to donors at a rate of 0.5-1.25%, bringing in cash donors while filling the funnel with qualified leads.

While the initial media spend might result in a return on ad spend (ROAS) of roughly 0.30-0.50, the long-term value is found in digital donor retention. By sending more emails, more often, charities can maximise the lifetime value of these digital donors, and prospect the file of new supporters to give them more and more ways to be an active part of your mission.

So while Meta and Google continue to ban and block charities from the traditional digital pathways to finding new donors, they have not closed the door on digital fundraising just yet. Success in 2026 and beyond requires charities to stop renting their audiences from big tech, and to start owning their relationships through first-party data and meaningful, active engagement.

Josh Leigh

About Josh Leigh

With more than 15 years of experience in digital and offline fundraising, campaigning and activism, Josh Leigh has helped NGOs raise millions in financial support and connect countless people with the causes they care about. Josh co-founded Hynt, a digital fundraising agency that empowers charities and purpose-led brands across Europe. Hynt offers a unique blend of expert training and campaign support, equipping clients with the knowledge and tools to navigate the digital landscape and achieve their fundraising goals.

Main feature image by Mariia Shalabaieva on Unsplash

This is a key finding of a new report written by Zewo Foundation, with support from the University of Fribourg, and published in both French and German.

The report looks at trends around donations to organisations holding the Zewo certification – a standard meaning that the charity meets certain expectations in areas including ethics, governances, transparency, and fundraising and communication.

The study also estimates that total giving in the country in 2024 was 2.25bn CHF, the same figure as in 2023, as previously reported by Fundraising Europe.

The 2023 and 2024 figure is 10% lower than in 2022, but still higher than all other previous years, and represents a doubling of giving in the past two decades – the figure in both 2003 and 2004 was 1.1bn CHF.

International strength

Overall, 55% of Zewo-certified charities experienced a decline in fundraising income. This picture changes based on charities’ focus – 60% of organisations working in Switzerland experienced a decline, while for internationally-focused organisations it was lower, at 45%.

However, total income for these organisations rose by 2.7% to 5.1bn CHF. This was thanks mainly to Government funding increasing during 2024 from just less than 1.9bn CHF to a little more than 2bn CHF.

In total, 51% of Zewo-certified organisations’ fundraising income comes from public donations; 27% from other churches and other nonprofits (including major fundraising campaign La Chaîne du Bonheur); 18% from legacy gifts; and 4% from enterprises.

Digital drop

As well as showing that digital donations are typically half as valuable as donations through traditional methods, the value of online giving has fallen year-on-year.

For digital donations on Twint, the most popular digital platform among Zewo-certified charities, the average value dropped from 117 CHF in 2022 and 101 CHF in 2023 to 86 CHF in 2024. Digital donations using credit cards also dropped from 168 CHF in 2022 to 108 CHF in 2024, while PayPal gifts have more than halved in average value from 160 CHF in 2022, to 74 CHF in 2024.

Picture by myshoun on Pixabay

In an increasingly digital world, giving donors the best possible online experience is an essential part of a fundraiser’s role.

Like many charities, NSPCC is eager to increase supporter engagement, boost traffic to its product and raise more income from regular giving. To ensure supporters receive a seamless, consistent experience when they want to make a donation, the UK children’s charity has placed a greater focus on using data to drive its digital strategy, with a commitment to continuous testing and optimisation.

The result of this sharper focus on online fundraising has been a rise in supporter engagement, a big increase in traffic to the charity’s donation site, and more regular gifts with a higher average value.

So, how has NSPCC achieved positive outcomes – and how can other charities have the same success?

Project to product: a new approach to digital fundraising

Since 2023, NSPCC has moved away from traditional waterfall project management (where project phases are completed one after the other in a predetermined order) and adopted a product-led approach to developing the journeys on goDonate, the platform it uses to handle online donations.

The charity now puts more emphasis on supporter behaviour and how it affects campaign metrics. The main NSPCC website hosts a number of different services while acting as the starting point for the donation funnel on goDonate.

NSPCC’s priorities for its online donor journey are increasing overall regular donations and the amount of income gained from them. Another key area is increasing traffic to its products, thereby boosting supporter engagement and conversions. A third objective is to gain new donors while also increasing engagement with existing supporters to strengthen those relationships.

Understanding the behaviour of supporters in the charity’s digital channels provides a wealth of user-led data from Google Analytics and other sources. With this data to hand, the charity has been able to rapidly devise and run A/B testing of hypotheses.

Testing is never treated as a one-off. NSPCC runs ongoing trials, allowing it to continuously optimise campaigns and the digital journey.

Understanding the importance of continuous optimisation

Getting the donation journey right is the key to greater engagement and conversions. Industry statistics show that only around one in five users who click the ‘donate’ button on a charity website actually make a donation. While that figure is frustratingly low, it also means that even small incremental gains in conversions can make a big difference. For example, if a charity raised £500,000 in one year through its online donation forms, increasing the conversion rate from 21% to just 23% would provide an additional £50,000 in income.

This highlights the importance of optimisation – and there are several tactics that can be used through online donation platforms to improve donor journeys. Each tiny, testing-driven tweak can make a big difference. From optimised form layouts to frictionless payment options and emotionally resonant messaging, the goal is to make the giving experience as intuitive – and inspiring – as possible at every stage. For example, by tapping into known donor motivations with compelling headlines, copy and imagery. This is an impactful way to build emotional engagement, but it’s vital to ensure all campaign messaging and content is consistent across channels.

Ensuring the charity shows up in the same way across the journey builds trust and transparency, which is as crucial when it comes to online donations as it is in e-commerce. Supporters are reassured they’re still interacting with the organisation they want to give money to because the branding is consistent: they’re in the right place.

How testing led to big donation uplifts through NSPCC’s site

To uncover real-world challenges and opportunities, NSPCC conducted usability testing with small supporter samples. One surprising insight gleaned was that when people were prompted to donate after watching a TV advert, most searched for ‘NSPCC’, clicked the first donate button they saw, and didn’t scroll.

They wanted speed, clarity and emotional connection. However, consistency in imagery, such as using the same photo of a child across ads and donation pages, was key to triggering emotional recall.

Two other successful tests by the charity have made a measurable difference:

• Simplified hero banner – Replacing donation prompts on the landing page with a single, clear call-to-action led to an increase in clickthroughs to the goDonate donation platform of just over a fifth.
• Removing a mandatory attribution field – Eliminating the question, “What prompted your donation?”, which was prone to unstructured responses and offered little insight, boosted conversion by 4%.

These successes prompted the charity to innovate further. NSPCC is now experimenting with new features designed to emotionally connect with supporters, including a ‘giving slider’.

Instead of choosing an amount, supporters can now state how many Childline calls they want to fund. The donation value adjusts automatically, linking gift size directly to impact. Early tests show donors give more when they can visualise the effect of their donation.

Meanwhile, after making a one-off gift, supporters are invited on a ‘thank you’ page to convert to a regular gift with a single click.

Online donation optimisation tips for charities to consider

In a digital world crowded with choices, every second and each click counts. NSPCC’s commitment to data-driven testing, user-centred design and innovative giving options reveals how charities can elevate their online fundraising without huge budgets, but with smart decisions.

The results are a case in point:

• 37% rise in average regular gift value
• Significant uplift in income from the direct debit upgrade campaign platform
• Hundreds of new monthly donors added through a post-donation upsell feature, generating additional annual income

The benefits of testing and optimisation, following a data-driven approach to online fundraising, are clear. Regardless of size or existing revenue any charity can also significantly boost donations through their website. Here are six tips for success.

1. Streamline the journey: Keep donation forms short. Ask only essential questions. Reduce clicks.
2. Use emotional and visual cues: Consistency in imagery and copy builds trust and boosts response.
3. Optimise for mobile: Mobile accounts for 60% of donation; ensure your forms work well on smaller screens.
4. Offer modern payment methods: Digital wallets like Apple Pay and PayPal can significantly boost conversions.
5. Personalise where you can: Personalised donation pages, which display the supporter’s name, for instance, are proven to improve conversion by up to 21%. Delivery via email or QR code are particularly impactful.
6. Test, learn, repeat: With usability studies and A/B testing you can refine your hypotheses and prove what works.

Lee Bellingham

About Lee Bellingham

Lee Bellingham is a digital product manager at the NSPCC, where he plays a pivotal role in enhancing the charity’s online fundraising efforts. With extensive experience in digital strategy and user experience, he is dedicated to improving donor engagement and maximising online contributions for the organisation. At the NSPCC, Lee oversees various projects that leverage data-driven insights and innovative tools to optimise the online donation journey. His expertise in A/B testing and user-centric design has been instrumental in implementing successful strategies that foster deeper connections with supporters.

Vicky Reeves

About Vicky Reeves

Vicky Reeves is founder and CEO of goDonate, an online donation platform supporting UK and global charities. With more than 20 years’ expertise in digital fundraising and the technology that drives it, Vicky focuses on helping charities to maximise online donations through smart tech and exceptional UX. She was a trustee of the charity arm of the British Museum for eight years, helping the organisation to maximise its online fundraising and use technology to drive digital donations. She has been a finalist in the Digital Champion category of the Third Sector Awards, and was shortlisted for the Fast Growth Business Awards Female Entrepreneur of the Year.

The UK’s DMA, backed by 19 charities, wrote to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on behalf of its members last November, asking for soft opt-in to be extended to charities in the current Bill. Analysis referenced in the letter has estimated that this could lead to an extra £290 million in annual donations for UK charities. EFA member the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIOF) has also engaged with government ministers and House of Lords peers on the matter.

Current rules

At the moment, under the Privacy & Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) soft opt-in can only be used as a basis for contacting people with email and text marketing by commercial organisations, under strict conditions.

The exemption

The amendment (which can be found on p5 of the Bill) will mean that if someone shows an interest in what a charity is doing at the point of an email address capture (such as donating, or signing a petition), and is given the opportunity to opt out, the charity will be able to email them about something else, if it is to help further their work. This could include asking them to sign up to give regularly, or leave a legacy. The option to opt out will have to be given every time they are contacted, and there must be no sharing of data with a third party.

Announcing the news on the CIOF site, director of policy and communications Claire Stanley said:

“This is a significant win for the sector and will finally put charities on a level playing field with commercial organisations which have benefitted from soft opt-in since the introduction of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations back in 2003.

“Crucially, it shows a willingness from the government to listen to the sector at a time when it is facing multiple challenges to deliver services amid rocketing demand. This will allow charities to communicate more widely with supporters and share the vital work they are doing.”

Picture by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

This is a significant increase on the 35% that were using AI tools last year. However, 45% are using them informally and only 11% are using them across their organisation with a further 5% working towards this. There is also a marked difference depending on the size of the organisation: 53% of small charities are using AI in their day-to-day work, compared to 78% of large ones.

635 charities took part in the study, which also found that a third (34%) see using AI tools as a priority this year for their organisation. These results, the report says, suggests that a lot of staff are testing AI tools but that organisations are not adopting them formally at this point. In addition, only 22% currently feel prepared to respond to AI opportunities and challenges.

Overall, less than 1 in 5 are putting in the building blocks needed for AI use such as developing an AI policy (16%), reviewing data protection and security (15%), and improving data maturity and capability (9%). More large charities are focusing on these, with 34% developing an AI policy and 25% reviewing data protection and security.

The annual research also found that half of UK charities now have a digital strategy although only 14% feel they have embedded this in their organisation and are advanced with digital. 76% feel they have made digital progress this year but 41% say they are poor at digital fundraising, and another 25% don’t do it. At the same time, 52% say it is a key priority for their organisation this year.

Lack of funding a key issue

However, three quarters of those polled said they need funding to create time and capacity to work on organisational development and digital strategy. Organisational finances are the biggest barrier that 68% of charities now face in moving forward with digital. This has risen considerably from 2023, when only 27% said the cost-of-living crisis was affecting progress.

For almost half (45%), lack of digital funding is their biggest barrier, and among small charities 72% say they are struggling digitally due to squeezed organisational finances.

Nissa Ramsay, founder of Think Social Tech and co-author of the report, noted:

“We can see the impact more on smaller organisations, of which two thirds are at an early stage with digital (64%). For example, 53% of small charities are using AI tools in their day-to-day work, compared to 78% of large charities.

“Funders can make a radical difference by developing more inclusive funding practices. As it stands, only a quarter of charities were able to access funding that covered any digital costs this year. Both large and small charities need funders to recognise digital costs are vital core costs. It’s striking that 73% say their biggest digital funding need is time to work on organisational development.”

This year’s findings also revealed that among black-led charities, 65% are struggling to find funds to invest in devices, software and infrastructure, and that 41% of black led charities in the UK struggle to find a funder who will support a digital project. This is higher than the report’s main sample (21%), all small charities (25%) and charities led by other specific marginalised groups. There is also a slightly greater prioritisation of digital inclusion support among organisations tackling racial injustice. A third (33%) say this is a key priority for their organisation this year and 29% say this is a key need for funding.

Commenting on the findings, co-author Zoe Amar, founder of Zoe Amar Digital, said:

“This year’s results show charities are struggling with increased workload, significant financial pressures from inflation and budget cuts and little headspace for innovation. These pressures are definitely delaying digital progress and much of the sector seems to be in a holding pattern. Yet, despite the many barriers and challenges faced by charities, the appetite is still there and it is promising to see half of charities are now approaching digital strategically and 80% see digital as an organisational priority.

“AI is definitely seeing the biggest positive shift in the sector, with ambitions high, however for many charities it can lift the lid on old digital challenges and shine a light on the skeletons in the closet. If you still have issues with gathering high quality data, AI is not going to solve this. You need the right infrastructure and governance in place otherwise the sector runs the risk of being left behind in the AI revolution.”

Picture by Gerd Altmann on Pixabay

Carlos Molina, analyst and writer for MultiVersial.es newsletter, will discuss trends and innovation in digital business and how it will impact the NGO sector.

Jimena Tormo, head of gaming and interactive IPs by DeAPlaneta Entertainment, will share innovative examples of how XR and gaming can transform fundraising and take a look at the tools needed to change marketing and communication strategies to attract more donors and partners.

Frederic Bardeu, Simpolon.co co-founder, is going to talk about how to introduce AI into activism and fundraising, and taking advantage of new opportunities whilst at the same time minimising the risks that AI brings.

All news and registrations are available on the Digital Fundraising Hub website.

Commenting on the event, Fernando Morón, director of the AEFr, said: “Digital Fundraising Hub offers a valuable space for Third Sector professionals to learn about the latest trends in economics, marketing and digital fundraising.”

Picture by mikoto.raw Photographer on Pexels

In Germany, there is a clear generational split in this trend, according to analysis of a 5,000-person survey for the Deutscher Fundraising Verband (DFRV).

It shows that while 58% of baby boomers (born 1946-64) use bank transfers to donate, only 18% use PayPal. Meanwhile, for Generation Z (born 1996-2010), the numbers are near equal – 35% using bank transfer and 39% using PayPal.

In addition, while 9% of Gen Z are using Apple Pay, Google Pay or Garmin Pay to donate, this has only been taken up by 1% of boomers. Apple, Google and Garmin were also used by 2% of Generation X (born 1965-79), and by 5% of Generation Y (1980-95).

Commenting, DFRV managing director Larissa Probst said:

“Today, we are even more able to offer people their favourite payment options. This is important because offering more donation methods almost always means more donations.”

UK uptick

At the end of April, UK donation platform goDonate reported that 57% of the £25m total donations via goDonate in 2023 were made using a bank card, down from 61% in 2022, with the rest coming from digital wallets.

Specifically, 29% were from PayPal (down from 31% in 2022), 12.2% Apple Pay (8.8% in 2022) and 2.1% Google Pay (1.7% in 2022).

Digital wallets were also used in 16% of regular gifts.

Vicky Reeves, managing director of goDonate, commented:

“It is vital that charities offer the widest possible range of payment choices within their donation journeys.”

French preferences

Another report, analysing €369m of donations in France via iRaiser, said that mobile donations accounted for 24% of donations on the platform last year, up from 17% back in 2023, although their average value has declined from €113 to €95 in that period.

Over the same period, the proportion of donations using a bank card dropped from 85% to 83%, while PayPal giving rose from 7% to 10%. ApplePay accounted for 2% of donations in 2023, versus 1% in 2022.

Apple Pay average donations were €112, while card donations averaged €159. While PayPal gifts were considerably smaller at €99, they have grown by 10% since 2019, versus 8% growth for all iRaiser donations in that period.

iRaiser’s report also shows an increase in use of another relatively new payment method – the SEPA scheme available to EU members. It accounted for 23% of regular gifts on iRaiser in 2023, up from 19% in 2022.

Main picture by Freepik