Six in ten charities feel optimistic about fundraising in 2025, according to new research from Enthuse, the donations, fundraising and event registration platform.
The fourth edition of the annual Charity Pulse report surveyed leaders at over 100 UK charities to find out how their organisations fared in 2024, as well as the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in 2025.
A positive year for the sector
In what was a challenging year financially for many UK households, the third sector showed its resilience with more than three quarters (77%) of good causes either increasing or maintaining their fundraising income in 2024. A significant upturn on the 55% who said the same in the last edition of this report.
This healthy performance has given charities confidence going into 2025 with 60% of good causes saying they feel optimistic about fundraising for the year ahead. This is another marked increase from the 2024 edition of the report where 44% said the same.
Trust is a key component of how charities operate and the good news is charitable organisations feel there is a robust level of trust in their cause. In fact 87% of charity leaders see trust in their charity at an eight out of ten or higher.
Not only is trust high but three quarters (74%) of charities also feel that there is greater awareness of their cause and its need for support – up from 47% in last year’s report. The other key reasons given for optimism in fundraising include: more opportunities to make use of digital channels (74%), increased participation in mass physical events from younger generations (55%) and big name events like the TCS London Marathon and AJ Bell Great North Run being more inclusive and accessible (44%).
Of course fundraising isn’t without its challenges and when asked about concerns for 2025 nearly half of charities (47%) said uncertainty over the economy was a consideration. This was the top answer given. Other areas for concern listed were fundraisers being reluctant to ask for support due to money being tight (29%), donor fatigue (24%) and the death of cash (21%).
An event-full 2025
When it comes to the areas where charities are expecting fundraising income to grow in 2025, events and activities scored highest (54%), closely followed by corporate fundraising (53%) and individual giving (48%). Approximately one in three (31%) charities predict growth in regular giving, 27% said the same for in-memory and 25% for legacy giving.
With regards to the type of events charities are planning for this calendar year, mass physical participation events came out on top with more than four in five (82%) having this in their plans. This could be a charity-run event or one put on by a third party. Smaller events such as bake offs and pub quizzes are on the cards for 80% of good causes, nearly half (49%) plan to offer a virtual physical event that participants can do in their own time and a quarter (25%) have a hybrid event in their sights.
When asked about the top ways to help fundraisers raise more, 87% of charitable organisations said providing information on how the money will be used is important. This was followed by tips on how to ask people for support (74%), ideas for fundraising (73%), initiatives to get people started as early as possible (73%), seeing the amount raised on an official event webpage (73%) and integrated event sign up and fundraising page creation (69%).
Commenting on the research, Chester Mojay-Sinclare, Enthuse Founder and CEO, said:
“In the face of adversity, it’s fantastic to see that many charities improved or maintained their fundraising income in 2024. The healthy level of optimism for 2025 bodes well for the sector. Charities have helped so many in need in the past 12 months and I’m glad they feel there’s a high level of trust in their work. They’ve earned it!”
“2024 was a record-breaking year for mass participation events like the TCS London Marathon and AJ Bell Great North Run driven by a real appetite from younger generations taking part in these kinds of events. It’s easy to see why they’re an important part of charities’ plans for this year too.”
Technology tools of the trade
Looking at the adoption of technology in the sector, simple and versatile tools like QR codes are popular, with 79% of charities using them. TikTok and other video channels are utilised by about a third (34%) of good causes, 22% say they make use of mobile apps and 16% are already recording or appearing on podcasts. Despite the headlines, only 10% of charities say they’re using AI to personalise donor journeys. Nearly one in three (32%) charities say they’re using, trialling or researching a replacement for X (Twitter). Interestingly, 23% of good causes say they’re not using a CRM.
Looking at any concerns charities had around their digital strategy in 2025, data was a key theme. Nearly three quarters (74%) said they had concerns over data privacy and GDPR compliance. Data security and data leaks is a concern for 64% followed by platform owners collecting supporters’ data (52%) and platform owners re-contacting supporters (41%). Away from data, other areas of concern included: developing the skills in-house to run digital campaigns (58%), developing social media strategy (50%) and understanding and developing policies around generative AI (49%).
