The donor rate has dropped just slightly from 50.2% to 49.2%. Nearly 50% of donors donated between €50 and €250, with disability / sickness / healthcare, and child / youth welfare the most popular causes – both areas are supported by 30% of donors. Significantly less of a focus were immediate / emergency aid (17%) and development aid (11%), while just 9% donated to climate protection.

Key factors in donations are transparency, and trust in the charitable organisations. Overall, 41% of people in Germany are involved in volunteer work. Among donors, this figure rises to 53%. The report also shares that 80% of the population are in-kind donors.

The DZI and DFRV agreed in September 2024 to coordinate their respective surveys, analyses and publications on donation behaviour in order to strengthen clarity in donation statistics.

The DZI Donation Index estimates that overall, €12.5 billion was donated in Germany last year – including donations of over 1,500 euros.

According to DFRV, the country’s fundraising organisations awaited this year’s Donation Monitor figures with particular anticipation. Inflation, ongoing multiple crises, and economic uncertainty have created a more challenging psychological environment for donations than usual. This was exacerbated by negative media coverage of the allocation and use of grant funds by nonprofit organisations following a parliamentary inquiry by the CDU/CSU faction, leading to fears of a massive crisis of confidence.

Larissa Probst, DFRV managing director, said:

“We are pleased that trust in fundraising organisations remains high. Donors have stayed the course, demonstrated solidarity, and continued their commitment, in some cases with increased resources, despite uncertainties, multiple crises, and rising costs.”

Adding to this, Burkhard Wilke, managing director and scientific director of the DZI, commented:

“Donating is a matter of trust! The stable to slightly positive trend in donations, despite the difficult economic conditions, can therefore also be seen as a result of the significantly improved transparency of many charitable organisations. The increasingly used services of the independent DZI donation advisory service further support the willingness to donate, as does modern and responsible fundraising.”

The German Donation Monitor findings are based on an online survey of 5,008 respondents, aged 16-75, which took place between 15 October and 15 November this year.

Picture by Andres Siimon 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.

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A new report by sector body FAIR shows that in 2024, €2bn was held in ‘l’épargne de partage’ (shared savings), a special type of savings product in which at least 25% of interest received is donated to good causes.

Payments made to charity had been between €3.9m and €4.8m every year between 2018 and 2022, before nearly doubling to €8.5m in 2023, and again growing significantly in 2024. The total savings held in such accounts grew by 13% between 2023 and 2024.

L’épargne de partage is a small section of France’s wider ‘finance solidaire’ (solidarity finance) category, comprising savings invested in a range of organisations and projects that support the wider public interest.

Total ‘finance solidaire’ funds in 2024 grew 7% to €29.4bn. This represents 0.5% of all savings in France – a significant figure for a sector which has only existed in earnest since the mid-1990s.

A total of 2m people out of France’s 69m population use a ‘finance solidaire’ account, according to Patrick Sapy, director general of FAIR. He comments:

“Enthusiasm for solidarity products continues unabated and today, nearly 2m savers understand that solidarity finance is not only finance based on strong values but also finance offering concrete and useful solutions for all French people.”

Philippe Pailliart, president of EFA member France générosités, notes that 67% of French people do not have enough knowledge of the sector. He says:

“This lack of cultural awareness is the main obstacle to its development. To address this, it is essential that certain banks expand and further promote their offering of shared products. In addition, public awareness must continue to be raised through major campaigns such as the Semaine de la Finance Solidaire (Solidarity Finance Week) organised by FAIR. Community networks and France générosités also have a key role to play in relaying these messages to citizens.”

The 2025 Semaine de la Finance Solidaire takes place from 10 to 16 November.

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RCS technology has been available since 2023. Compared to SMS, it offers richer, interactive, and more engaging messaging experiences through the inclusion of high-resolution photos, videos, GIFs, and interactive elements, making it useful for marketing purposes. Unlike SMS however, which uses cellular networks, it requires WiFi or mobile data to work.

RCS technology already offers numerous advantages for nonprofits, such as an enhanced experience in conversations with donors. However, until now it had not been possible to integrate a payment component into the conversational channel to simplify the process for donors making one-off donations or committing to long-term support for charities.

France générosités first raised this issue with Google and mobile operators in 2023, leading Orange to put forward the idea of combining Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) with the RCS channel.

France générosités, and member organisations SPA, French Red Cross, Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale and Sidaction have been working with Orange, SFR, and HighConnexion to develop the system since March 2024.

Successful first trials

The first trials took place in France in July and will continue until the end of 2025. The first campaigns saw nearly 80% of donors’ phones compatible with RCS. They received an enriched message offering more information about the donation and tax reductions, and integrating official visuals, multiple choices regarding donation amounts, and sharing the identity of the message sender – verified and secured by the operators and Google. France générosités is currently working to expand these initial experiments.

France générosités says the innovation offers significant added value for the fundraising sector. It is primarily available to member associations and foundations, offering the option of requesting a one-off donation or a monthly commitment, with confirmation also integrated into the same conversational channel.

Together with HighConnexion and the operators, France générosités is now working on developing the system to make it available to all operators and so it can be offered in pull marketing (at the initiative of donors).

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.

This is the lowest growth figure since the first report in 2005, with the exception of 2018, which was due to a reform of the country’s tax regime.

The study of donations to 57 organizations excludes donations of more than €250,000, those made to online event ZEvent, and emergency media appeals. Adding emergency media appeals into account and donations grew by 3%, in part as a result of the response to the December 2024 cyclone in Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean.

In 2024, income from regular direct debit donations rose by 4.4%. Such gifts now represent 45% of those organizations’ income, more than double the 20% of 2004.

One-off donations of less than €150 were less common in 2024, declining 3.6% year-on-year. They now represent 39% of total income, nearly half the 69% of 2004.

The only other size of donation in decline last year was gifts of €10,000 or more, dropping by 0.3% between 2023 and 2024.

Weak November

The 1.9% growth figure may be considered a disappointment given that donations in the first half of 2024 were 3.1% higher than the same period in 2023.

The second half of the year witnessed a slowdown, including a 3.1% year-on-year drop in donations in November 2024, followed by 0.3% in December. These two months are a key time in the fundraising calendar, accounting for a third of all giving.

The study also demonstrates the rapid, ongoing growth of digital giving. In 2019, 20% of gifts were online, a figure which has risen to 33%.

Separate research released earlier this year by France générosités, and the Fondation de France’s Observatoire Philanthropie & Société, showed that corporate giving in France was growing faster than individual giving. It also highlighted particular growth in donations from SMEs and very small enterprises (VSEs).

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This provisional total is a slight increase on the €373m donated in 2023 and 2022’s €363.4m. It also represents 28% growth since 2019.

However, it is not the highest figure in recent years; €387.6m of tax-deductible donations were made in 2021. In several European countries, 2020 and 2021 were years of particularly high donations to charity, as the world grappled with the worst period of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But Belgium’s 2024 figure may still rise due to late filings of financial documents. In 2023, more than €18m in donations were revealed in certificates which were received after the deadline. If this were repeated for 2024, then the year’s total donations would beat the 2021 figure.

The average donation in Belgium rose from €153 in 2023 to €164 in 2024’s provisional figures, meaning it has grown nearly a fifth since 2019, when it stood at €139.

This trend, of the number of donors declining or stagnating, but average donation amount growing, has also been seen in several other European countries in recent times.

Despite this growth in donations, fundraisers and charities in Belgium remain concerned about a reduction in the level of tax deduction applying to donations, from 45% to 30%.

EFA member Fundraisers Belgium is a member of the Impact Coalition which has campaigned against this change.

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Analysis for the Government of tax return data, combined with data from donation platforms Darujme.cz and Donio.cz, shows that a total of CZK 12.5bn was declared in tax returns in 2022, an increase from CZK 4.4bn in 2012.

Two thirds of the 2022 total comes from gifts given by a total of 32,000 companies, with the rest from individuals. As two-thirds of Czechia residents do not file tax returns, the researchers suggested that total individual giving is likely to be around CZK 10bn, meaning an overall total of CZK 18bn or more.

The researchers say that because 2022 giving was particularly motivated by support for Ukraine, following the Russian invasion, the figures for 2023 will be slightly lower. However, data suggests that the total number of donors continues to increase, even if average donation size has decreased, most likely due to cost-of-living pressures.

The data also shows that since 2012, the number of individuals deducting tax in lieu of donations in their tax return has grown from 6.4% to 10.2%.

It notes too that companies based in Prague, the capital city, account for half of all corporate donations in 2022. However, only 4% of companies registered there made a donation: one of the lowest rates of any region in the country.

In 2023, the average single donation across the two fundraising platforms studied was CZK 655 (€26), with donors averaging two to three donations per year.

This data, the first of its kind gathered in the country, will support the growth of the sector. Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková, Government Commissioner for Human Rights, comments:

“This data will allow us to better understand the dynamics of donations and more effectively support private donors and the nonprofit sector.”

Jana Ledvinová, director of the České centrum fundraisingu (Czech Fundraising Center), adds:

“With more and more nonprofits in Czechia beginning to think seriously about fundraising, and running sophisticated and successful campaigns, it is a really exciting time in the sector. There is an opportunity to build a culture of giving, in which the people of Czechia will be able to contribute and see the impact they are having on the many nonprofit organisations doing fantastic work across the country.”

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This preliminary forecast comes from its latest quarterly data, which shows that 70% of members report an increase in public gifts for 2024 compared to 2023. Meanwhile, 57% saw increased legacy giving.

Between 2022 and 2023, corporate giving dropped by more than a third to SEK 1.1bn. For 2024, corporate giving remained “stable but shows no signs of increasing at the moment”, according to Charlotte Rydh, secretary general of Giva Sverige.

Giva Sverige says that the increase was modest for many charities, with middle-sized charities – those raising SEK 25m to 99m annually – performing most strongly across the year. Larger organisations saw more growth during the second half of the year, and were also more likely than middle-sized ones to report an increase in legacy income.

The 5% preliminary forecast for growth means that the sector has regained much of the ground lost in the previous year – in 2023, Swedish charities reported an average 12% drop in donations. That followed a particularly strong 2022, during which Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted many extra donations.

Reflecting on this preliminary data Rydh, who was also EFA president from 2021 to 2024, says:

“It is fantastic to see that the commitment of Swedes continues to be strong. The needs both in Sweden and in the world are enormous right now and the long-term support of donors is more important than ever.”

Giva Sverige says that the full data will be published in May.

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However, 40% of Spaniards have never contributed financially, highlighting a significant growth opportunity for the third sector.

The Spanish Fundraising Association (AEFr) has released the data from its 2024 Donor Profile Study in collaboration with Tuinkel, a strategic design laboratory.

Most popular causes

The study also highlights the causes that resonate most with donors, and therefore receive the highest levels of support. These include medical assistance and access to basic health services (82%), support for elderly people without family assistance (82%), and research on diseases and epidemics (80%), along with support for children and assistance for people with disabilities, which also garnered the same percentage.

Donation motivation

In Spain, the main motivation for donating is the desire to make a difference, reflecting a strong connection between solidarity and a sense of self-efficacy. However, the lack of financial resources, cited by 33% of non-donors, remains one of the main barriers, followed by distrust and a lack of transparency in organizations (20%).

On a positive note, over 13 million people in Spain have placed their trust in a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) to channel their solidarity, as highlighted in the 2024 Donor Profile Study, according to Fernando Morón, director of AEFr.

The report underscores the crucial role of NGOs as agents of social cohesion in a context of increasing polarization.

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