Bringing together nearly 50 researchers and covering 20 European countries, the volume maps research and data on donations by households, bequests, corporations, foundations and independent charity lotteries.

As well as mapping giving, the study also assesses data quality, representativeness, and methodological approaches across countries, finding that while philanthropy represents a substantial and diverse contribution to European societies, there are structural gaps in how this activity is measured and understood. Some countries, ERNOP found, maintain robust and representative data systems and others have just fragmented surveys or partial estimates.

Commenting, Barry Hoolwerf, director of ERNOP and co-editor of the volume, said:

“At a time when European societies face profound uncertainty, private initiative is increasingly expected to contribute to the common good. Yet we cannot responsibly debate the role of philanthropy without understanding its scale, structure, and limits. Europe does not lack philanthropic commitment. What it lacks is a shared and durable system to understand it. Strengthening Europe’s philanthropic data infrastructure is essential for informed public debate and sound policy.”

Public webinar

Philanthropy in Europe will be pre-released to ERNOP members on 3 March with a free public webinar taking place on 24 March, at 3PM-4PM CET. Editors Barry Hoolwerf and Johan Vamstad will present the main insights and discuss implications for research, policy, and practice. Sevda Kilicalp (head of knowledge & learning, Philea), Charlotte Rydh (EFA board member and CEO of Giva Sverige) and Malcolm Fleming (president, Association of Charity Lotteries in Europe) will reflect on the findings in a moderated panel discussion.

Philanthropy in Europe will be made available as an Open Access publication.

Registration for the free public webinar is open here (capacity is limited).

Main picture: by Hartono Creative Studio for Unsplash+

The partnership will strengthen EFA’s reach in three key ways:

1. Expanded network and collaboration: Philea brings together a diverse range of philanthropic organizations, foundations, and networks from across Europe. Joining it will enable EFA’s members to connect with a broader community of stakeholders, fostering collaboration and the exchange of best practices.
2. Enhanced advocacy and influence: Philea is known for its strong advocacy efforts at the European level. Contributing within Philea will enable EFA to amplify its voice and influence policymakers on issues related to fundraising and philanthropy, with the aim of helping to achieve more favourable regulatory environments and increased support for nonprofit organizations.
3. Access to resources and knowledge: Philea provides members with access to a wealth of resources, including research, toolkits, and training programmes. EFA will leverage these to strengthen its own capacity and support for members.

Cooperating on public affairs will be central to the partnership, and a first joint meeting was held in early April with this focus. EFA’s Public Affairs Working Group members are joining Philea’s Legal Affairs Committee to share their expertise and contribute to major current issues (such as the EU AML Package, and the European Civil Society Strategy), and to bring their perspective on fundraising issues.

Philea’s monitoring will eventually cover EU consumer rights texts that have an impact on direct and digital marketing (in particular), in addition enabling EFA to participate in increasing awareness and influence where regulation is concerned in this area.

EFA also fully supports Philea’s European Philanthropy Manifesto, which calls for a Single Market for Philanthropy and Public Good.

Laurence Lepetit, EFA board member with responsibility for public affairs, and CEO of France générosités, comments:

“Partnering with Philea brings additional strength and resource to both organizations that will benefit not only our members, but the wider fundraising community across Europe.

“At a time when the European civic space is shrinking and organisations, both associations and foundations, are being challenged in their vocations and models, it is essential to build strong cooperation between the fundraising and philanthropic sector.”

Enacting these measures could remove hurdles which currently provide a “significant obstacle to the free flow of philanthropy across borders”.

This is according to the Brussels-based philanthropy organisation Philea. Last year, a report by Philea outlined six key ways in which cross-border philanthropy is thwarted, including what it called “discriminatory tax treatment”; difficulty in accessing banking services, and the “worrying phenomenon” of restrictions being placed on so-called foreign agents.

As Fundraising Europe has highlighted previously, there are growing concerns about the ‘foreign agent’ narrative in a range of countries including Slovakia, Hungary, Georgia and more.

Philea says that foundations and philanthropy organisations should advocate for change by engaging with governments to ensure implementation of the recommendation by the deadline of November this year.

The council’s recommendation, made in 2023, covers a broad range of issues relating to the social economy, rather than just to donations to registered charities. The legal text includes this explanation:

“Social economy entities and their definition can vary slightly between the Member States, and can take various legal forms and statuses, such as cooperatives, mutual societies, associations, foundations and social enterprises. They share the common principles of reinvesting all or most of their profits to pursue their social or environmental purposes and practicing democratic or participatory governance.”

Hanna Surmatz, head of policy at Philea, tells Fundraising Europe that the council’s recommendation, alongside upcoming Commission-led training on social economy topics, will “create a real momentum” to support better cross border philanthropy. She adds:

“Legislative changes and simplification of procedures are essential to create a functioning cross-border philanthropic space. We call on member states to implement them swiftly.”

Picture by Aron Visuals on Pixabay

The Manifesto was launched in Brussels in the presence of over 100 policymakers and representatives from the philanthropy and wider civil society and social economy sectors.

On the day of launch (30 November), Angel Font, president of Philea said:

“Today we put out a strong call to policymakers at EU and national levels to ensure that the philanthropy and foundation sector has the recognition and framework conditions it needs and deserves to contribute towards a society that works for people and planet.”

There are four key recommendations:

• Empower philanthropy by creating enabling frameworks in line with the fundamental rights of the freedom of association and movement of capital
• Facilitate cross-border philanthropy by removing barriers that cost the sector €100 million annually and prevent work on pressing societal challenges that do not stop at borders
• Engage with philanthropy by better implementing Article 11 of the Treaty on European Union to create an open, transparent and regular dialogue with civil society including philanthropy as well as creating other strategic engagement opportunities with the philanthropy sector
• Partner with philanthropy for public good by creating more opportunities in strategic programme design, co-granting and in creating incentives for co-investing from endowments – mobilising the untapped potential of billions of euros

Delphine Moralis, CEO, Philea, commented: 

“The Philanthropy Manifesto is a call for the development of a single market without borders for the philanthropy sector and a call for engaging and partnering with our sector to develop the much needed solutions to our green, digital and social transformations.”

At the launch, the European Commission’s Valentina Superti, Director, DG GROW, and Ruth Paserman, Director, DG EMPL recognised the important role that foundations play in solving societal issues. They both highlighted that a lot has already happened towards creating a real momentum for the philanthropy sector in the context of the Social Economy including foundations as one of the social economy families with the Social Economy Action Plan of 2021 and yesterday’s formal adoption of Social Economy Council Recommendations as well as a new legislative proposal on a European Cross-border Association on the table.

Ludwig Forrest, head of philanthropy, King Baudouin Foundation, and co-chair, Philea Legal Affairs Committee said:

“In these extraordinary times, philanthropy has demonstrated more than ever these last years its complementary, agile and innovative role for our society, in addition to actions by government, associations and the private sector. The 2024 European Philanthropy Manifesto proposes clear and concrete ways forward that should be implemented to allow philanthropy to fully play its role to tackle increasing and complexifying societal issues all over Europe.”

Institutional philanthropy in Europe includes more than 186,000 foundations with an accumulated annual expenditure of nearly €64 billion. Besides funding and investments, these organisations boast deep expertise and knowledge, as well as strong stakeholder networks in the areas of their activities, which Philea says can be leveraged significantly with the appropriate framework conditions.

Picture by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

The Global Philanthropy Tracker from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy measures cross-border donations from individuals and organisations around the world.

It shows that the 47 countries included in the latest GPT contributed USD 70 billion in philanthropic giving in 2020 (the latest year for which data is available for most of the countries). This, it says, is roughly equivalent to the 73rd largest economy in the world, by 2020 GDP.

The 2023 GPT also examines how philanthropy enables and enhances efforts to address complex challenges – from poverty, food insecurity, health, and climate change to racial injustice, and inequality facing women and girls.

In addition, the report compares cross-border philanthropy to three other cross-border financial resource flows, including official development assistance (ODA), private capital investment, and remittances. Its data suggests that the $70 billion in philanthropy represents 8% of total cross-border financial resource flows.

When combined with ODA, remittances, and private capital investment, the total rises to $841 billion. The largest portion of this money comes from the high-income countries, which contributed about 95% of the total amount measured.

Africa was the most supported region among the countries with available data. This has been constant since 2018, with Asia also remaining a top recipient of cross-border philanthropy. Meanwhile, Europe has seen an increase in the number of countries sending cross-border donations to the continent.

Among the countries with data available on supported charitable causes, education and health were the most supported.

European data

In the report, the countries and data are grouped by income level as defined by the World Bank‘s measure of gross national income (GNI). Among the European countries tracked, the GPT shows that Germany’s philanthropic outflows (in inflation adjusted 2020 US dollars) was $3,228m, and its outflows as a share of gross national income was 0.0825%. For France, the figures were $1,070m and 0.0401%, for the UK $5.954mn and 0.2239%, for Italy $706m and 0.0371%, for Spain $385m and 0.0300%, and the Czech Republic $13m and 0.0056%.

Picture by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels

This is according to a new study by Philanthropy Ireland, which argues that the philanthropy sector needs to do more to engage journalists, and to increase the amount of research, data and information it provides them with on the topic.

The report, titled What Made the News, analysed 100 major articles on philanthropy between 2013 and 2023. Of these, 28 were primarily focused on profiling or honouring philanthropists.

There was significantly more focus on corporate donations and wealthy individuals, as opposed to other forms of giving such as grassroots philanthropy, the report says. In addition, articles generally lacked “analysis of the impact of philanthropic activities on Irish society”, as well as transparency around how donations are used.

What Made the News also says that while philanthropy in Ireland continues to grow, there is a “lack of public awareness and understanding” of philanthropy and its impact, as well as of data around this topic.

It adds:

“Given these challenges, there is a growing need for greater attention to be paid to the role and impact of philanthropy in Ireland. One way to do this is through media reporting, which can help to raise awareness of philanthropic initiatives, develop an understanding around philanthropy, and highlight the impact of philanthropy on society.” 

The report ends with recommendations for the charity sector. These include engaging more with journalists and providing them with more data and information on philanthropy’s impact, and trends in the sector. It also calls for more transparency around causes and organisations supported, as well as doing more to highlight diverse voices and perspectives.

Mirroring those recommendations, it also gives suggestions for journalists, such as “emphasise the positive impact it [philanthropy] is having on society”; highlight the contributions of minority groups and under-represented communities; and “create more opportunities for philanthropists and nonprofit leaders to speak directly to the media about their work, challenges, and successes”.

The Research Conference takes place on June 29-30 in Zagreb, with the theme ‘Philanthropy and crises: Roles and functioning of philanthropy in times of societal upheavals’.

Shared insight

Hosted by the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb, it will welcome participants from all disciplines to discuss philanthropy’s purpose and practice in the present day, and how this might develop in the future. The event will see more than 100 speakers share insights from their research on philanthropy in Europe and beyond, especially in the context of Central and Eastern European Countries. It will also include a keynote address from Prof. Michael Meyer (WU Vienna), on the roles and functions of philanthropy in times of crisis, and a joint EFA / Philea panel on cross border giving.

Speaking on the value of bringing academics and practitioners together, Barry Hoolwerf, ERNOP executive director, comments:

“Philanthropy is navigating through turbulent times. Multiple crisis and legitimacy issues are on the table, but also new opportunities related to leveraging the impact of philanthropy.

“Academic studies can help institutional philanthropy become more self-reflective. They can shed light on what the sector can and can’t do, and could inform strategy and practice for the sector. Given the relatively small size of the sector compared to its public and commercial counterparts, using and promoting academic knowledge development to build the sector is even more important for philanthropy than it for other sectors.”

Safe Spaces for Philanthropy
The day before, June 28, ERNOP is holding its pre-conference Safe Spaces for Philanthropy, in collaboration with Philea. This event will provide an opportunity to discuss issues and address themes related to philanthropy that require a higher level of trust and understanding. Sessions are designed to enable people to speak freely, and will be dedicated to topics including impact, diversity and inclusion, leadership, advocacy, and empowering communities.

Every session will start with an introduction on the chosen topic, examining how it applies to philanthropy. Moderators will then share possibilities and achievements, as well as struggles and pitfalls in dealing with the topic. They will also invite participants to share experiences and possible ways to overcome challenges.

Promoting learning between academics & practitioners

For practitioners, the pre-conference event aims to provide an opportunity for peer learning and exchange on topics that are essential to the functioning of philanthropic organisations but often create friction and frustration. Practitioners will be provided with academic reflections to help them better understand processes and possibilities for overcoming these frictions, and connect their daily practice and strategic thinking with research evidence.

For academics, the event provides an opportunity for in-depth discussion on issues of importance to professionals working in the philanthropy sector and to integrate their feedback into their work.

Speaking on how the Safe Spaces sessions will work, Hoolwerf explains:

“We see the interaction between academics and practitioners as a means for cross-pollination leading to an exciting mixture of new ideas, innovation, and shifts in thought patterns and practices. To allow their knowledge and skills to influence one other, it is necessary to bring the two together in facilitated, trusted spaces.

“The joint sessions will use methods which encourage respect for unique organisational cultures, professional languages, norms and definitions of success; harness and coordinate the energy, interests and resources of these diverse audiences; and stress shared values, overlapping strategic interests, mutual purposes and interdependencies in order to build relationship capital and trust.”

Take part

Register for Safe Spaces here, and for the Conference here.

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What is philanthropic psychology? To understand it, it’s helpful to start with some definitions:

The root of philanthropy is from the Greek ‘love of humankind.’

Psychology is the study or research of the psyche or the soul.

When you put the two words together, you get a discipline that is effectively about how people love humankind. So philanthropic psychology is the study of how people love others. Well, almost. When we study the love of humankind, we study both how we love others but also how we can better love ourselves – deepening our sense of personal wellbeing.

In the context of fundraising, love is expressed through the act of giving. Many psychologists and fundraisers believe that love is in some sense self-sacrificial and the more self-sacrificial (or selfless) the gift, the better it somehow is. There are two issues here.

The first is that ‘altruism’ and self-sacrificial giving is a very 20th century take on philanthropy. Giving is most powerful when the donor extends their sense of who they are around an organisation or cause. So, I might see myself as a Greenpeace supporter and it is core to my sense of self. Then when I donate, I am not giving money away or sacrificing a part of me. Rather I am moving resources around to another part of who I am and celebrating the self, not sacrificing it.

The second problem with this perspective is that we usually don’t adequately consider who the ‘self’ is that is being sacrificed. So even if we view giving as a sacrifice, we can deprive ourselves of the opportunity to feel good about having made the sacrifice, because we’re not sure what has been given up or lost.

Philanthropic psychology counterbalances this by supporting fundraisers and donors to articulate their sense of self in the most precise way, so if we then say we self-sacrificially give, that phrase enriches rather than diminishes our meaning in life.

At the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy, we believe that giving can (and should) be a pleasurable, mutually beneficial experience which cultivates and nurtures the human capacity for love. Articulating that love through a gift can create a simple exchange of pleasure. Put simply, I help a beneficiary and I feel good as a consequence of offering my love. But philanthropic psychology can deepen that experience because it studies different forms of love and how these different types can help us grow meaning in life.

But more on that later. For now, it’s important to move beyond the terminology to understand what it means in practice. Philanthropic psychology is a powerful blend of the study of identity, wellbeing, and love. Through our experiments with real-world fundraising, we have consistently doubled giving by using this framework of understanding.

Identity

In brief, the science of identity is the study of who we are. In the fundraising community, research abounds on why people give and what the drivers are that prompt their generosity. Even when identities are studied, they are often explored as tools to grow giving.

Philanthropic psychology is different. It does not see peoples’ identities as something that we target and then consume. Instead, it sees people’s identities as something that we collect, cherish, and nurture. It does not see giving as the consequence of fulfilling identities, it sees giving as the route to living fulfilling identities.

Wellbeing

There are three vital contributions that philanthropy can make to wellbeing: connection, competence, and autonomy. These are all higher order human needs that every human has. We will outline what they mean alongside some self-reflection questions to get you started on your journey with philanthropic psychology:

Connection – We need to feel connected to others that we love and care about. When connections between people and others they care about are strengthened, wellbeing increases – and with it, donations can increase.

• Who do your supporters crave a connection with? (the beneficiary group, a specific community, your brand, your organisation itself?)
• How are you building that connection?

Competence – We feel good as human beings when we feel we are good at doing certain things. The more competent we feel, the more wellbeing we experience. And in the context of philanthropy that means feeling competent in articulating our love for others.

• Do your donors feel like they can truly make a difference to the cause?
• Do they feel competent in giving their love to the ones they care about the most, or is the organisation getting in the middle of that?

Autonomy – We also experience wellbeing when we feel we have a say in something or a hand in making something good happen. The more autonomy we experience, the greater the consequent wellbeing. So giving donors a voice and agency in the impact they have is crucial.

The final point must not be mistaken with control, because the essence of a sustainable philanthropic relationship is trust. The whole point of trust is not to control what the other one does, or achieves, but to cede our own control to someone we have learnt to trust.

• Are you making the donor feel that they have a voice, and their voice matters?
• Do they feel they have a choice in how to express their love for those they care about?

Love

‘Love’ is not a monolith, and the love expressed in different contexts and among different people looks, sounds, and feels very different. Understanding the role of love in philanthropic psychology is understanding who nonprofits are and who their supporters are – and crafting the right kind of relationship for the right kind of love to grow.

All three concepts of love, identity, and wellbeing have the capacity to develop the meaning that supporters can experience in their philanthropy. They also have the ability to double giving precisely because it feels good to donors when they offer that support. In that way, philanthropic psychology delivers the sector a dual bottom line – impacting positively on both supporters and the causes they love.

About Harriet Jones-Day

Harriet Jones-Day

Harriet Jones-Day is a Lecturer in Fundraising at the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy, which offers the Certificate in Philanthropic Psychology. She holds a law degree from the University of Exeter and is a graduate of the Institute of Fundraising’s Certificate in Fundraising qualification programme. Harriet also oversees and is a tutor for the Fundraising Standard, which runs classes for US fundraising professionals. Harriet is passionate and committed to her work and has published several research reports in the domain of philanthropy and fundraising. She is currently aiding in the development of courses and certificates to help improve the learning landscape for fundraisers around the world.

Picture: by Khadeeja Yasser on Unsplash

The face of philanthropy is changing – quite literally – and both what and how newer philanthropists support is increasingly different from previous generations.

Why people give probably hasn’t changed that much over the decades. Motivation remains driven by personal experience and empathy for the cause – it’s the classic giving from the heart approach. But the causes that are becoming popular are less traditional, with newer donors seeking different ways to bring about change.

At THINK, we have noticed some interesting shifts in philanthropy when it comes to newer philanthropists – whether truly Next Gen donors or simply those donors entering the philanthropy market for the first time.

Changes in who and what

Younger major donors have a greater desire to give in a more targeted way than their older counterparts. Data from Wealth-X in The New Normal suggests that younger donors donate to a narrower range of causes. And while they may be loyal to particular causes, such as the environment, they are not charity loyal. In other words, they will support initiatives that match their passion, but are just as likely to support a social enterprise or a campaign led by an organisation they haven’t supported previously. They simply support those they feel will deliver impact and change, and rather than giving via ‘old-fashioned’ bank transfer, they may want to donate cryptocurrency, which can send shock waves through finance directors and trustees.

The Milken Institute report Stepping off the Sidelines: The Unrealized Potential of Strategic Ultra-High-Net-Worth Philanthropy (2020) suggests that younger donors, be their wealth self-made or inherited, have a greater taste for donating to advocacy and a better understanding that this is likely to lead to greater impact for their giving. Newer female philanthropists are similarly motivated, especially in traditionally less popular causal areas such as refugees and migrants, as well as increasingly supporting causes directly related to women and girls. All are becoming more engaged, and seeking to be development partners rather than faceless donors; wanting to donate their expertise as well as their money, and to see real evidence of their impact.

Changes in how

The rise of philanthropist-led giving movements and the proliferation of DIY giving circles is a step further and has the potential to see some charities side-lined altogether. While they aren’t currently dominant in the market, there’s the possibility that their growth globally may, in time, attract major donors away from charity-led initiatives to other ‘independent’ major donor programmes where donors combine funds and donate to causes directly.

Where donors used to be more reactive and tended to support the projects they were asked, this too is changing. Over time, there has been a shift from ‘ad hoc’ giving to more strategic investment in charities whose vision aligns with the donor’s own. Donors are more proactive in identifying recipients, often using third parties to help in the process. Wealth and philanthropy managers at private banks or specialist organisations are being commissioned to help donors decide where to give and it is not always the usual suspects with big advertising budgets and a high profile among the general population.

What does it mean?

Trends witnessed in the wider major donor market should be heeded, and charities should consider how they can respond. Clearly, charities operating in causal areas that have not always been popular may find it easier to attract next generation donors. But even traditional causes need to consider  how they can attract particular sub-groups of major donors and encourage them to give their time and expertise, as well as money. INGOs are leading the way here with several setting up giving groups specifically targeting younger or female philanthropists – or in some cases, both – with great success.

It is worth noting that there is a concentration of younger UHNWIs (ultra high net worth individuals) in the tech industry, which has come out of the Covid-19 crisis in good shape, but there are others. Whatever the sector, these potential philanthropists tend to hang out in different places and may not respond to classic fundraising events or asks and the same could be said of other new philanthropists. To engage them, charities will need to be clever, developing products and offers that appeal to their need for direct action and big impact.

There is a word of caution. Younger and female donors are both small minorities amongst UHNWI. The most reliable data suggests that women are perhaps between 1 in 7 and 1 in 10 of UHNWIs globally and only 12% of global UHNWIs are under 50, and it is slightly less than this in the key markets of North American and Europe. So, while they offer new opportunities, more traditional donor types should not be forgotten – for now at least.

Simon Dickson, Think Consulting Solutions

About Simon Dickson

Simon has been working for the charity sector for over 20 years. He started his career as a trust and foundation fundraiser but evolved into a major donor fundraiser through his leadership role in capital campaigns. As a Senior Consultant at THINK Consulting Solutions, he specialises in high value fundraising – trusts, major donors and corporate and their inter-relationships – and in helping charities develop their case for support. He also manages THINK’s Philanthropy and Partnerships, Compliance and Fundraising Directors’ Forums as well being a mentor for early career fundraisers.

Main photo by Christina Morillo on Pexels

Future-proofing foundations for a post-Covid-19 world offers insights into how foundations learned and adapted to the new circumstances thrust upon them by the pandemic. It also shares ideas for how the sector can make responsible philanthropy the new normal.

Leveraging data from a document review as well as various surveys and interviews conducted with the membership of the former EFC, the analysis delves into what foundations have learned from this period.

It shows that while organisations may survive in their current state, they will lose legitimacy and perceived value if they do not adapt. The publication first looks at the challenges perceived by philanthropy professionals and how they respond to these threats, and then takes stock of actions that have helped foundations to bounce back from disruption.

The paper also offers a set of recommendations to help organisations spot opportunities for change and prepare for what’s next, including advice on how to move towards new models of philanthropy, commit to reflexivity and organisational learning, and engage with criticism.

Sevda Kilicalp from Philea commented:

“There has been a growing interest in trust-based philanthropy over the last few years. Our analysis suggests that in addition to flexible and power-shifting relationships with grantees, institutional philanthropy should assess its performance against four other dimensions; including the alignment of internal practices with overall strategy; resonance with society; innovative and risk-tolerant approach to problem solving; and being guided by the principle of accountability, transparency, accessibility and humbleness in order to ensure that responsible philanthropy becomes the new normal beyond the emergencies.”

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