The Charity Pulse Report 2025 from Enthuse
Reasons to be cheerful. An insight into the challenges and opportunities for fundraising
Enthuse is a consultancy for the charity sector. To download the full report and its recommendations please click here Charity Pulse Report 2025
Fundraising growth and optimism. More than three quarters of charities saw their income stay the same or grow in 2024 with 60% saying they were fairly or very optimistic about the future. When asked about challenges to fundraising in 2025 top 3 responses were uncertainty over the economy, fundraisers reluctance to ask for donations as money is tight and donor fatigue. Enthuse recommends making it clear how fundraising helps by providing tangible descriptions of what donations will fund to promote your cause.
More detail can be found in pages 6-8 of the report
Areas of growth. The top 3 areas that charities are looking to increase their fundraising activities are in fundraising events/activities, corporate fundraising and individual giving.
More detail can be found in pages 12-13 of the report
Making the most of events which attract a lot of people. A majority of charities see events as a major area for increased income, whether that be challenge events (e.g. runs and walks), black tie events, bake sales or pub quizzes. 82% are planning to take part in or organise large scale physical events, which attract higher numbers of people, e.g. sponsored runs, the London Marathon and many more
More detail can be found in pages 13-14 of the report
New fundraising opportunities. Charities were optimistic for fundraising in 2025 in the following ways:
- making the most of digital channels
- harnessing the public’s greater awareness of their cause and need for support,
- increasing participation in large events (particularly young people) and events/activities focused on fitness and physical challenges (all ages) due the public’s increased focus on health.
More detail can be found in pages 9-10 of the report
Technology in 2025. Most charities used and will continue to use QR codes, as they are cheap and versatile. Alongside this is the use of contactless payments, as less and less people carry cash. Mobile apps are now being used, whether charities develop their own app or a encourage supporters to use third party apps for events, such as the Marathon. Interestingly a relatively low number of charities have adopted AI, however over a quarter of charities are in the process of researching or trialling its use. Customer Relation Management Systems (CRM’s) are software packages that hold a lot of information, which can alongside many things, help to evaluate the success of campaigns and understand what donors want, however 30% of small to medium charities do not use one.
More detail can be found in pages 17-19 of the report
Our three featured funders of the week are
Garfield Weston Foundation
Provides small, medium and large sized grants to UK registered charities, exempt charities and CIO’s under a range of themes, such as:
Arts, Community, Environment, Health and Welfare.
Please visit the website for more information
The Skinners’ Company
Provides small grants to registered not-for-profit organisations under the themes of
- Arts, heritage and communities
- The relief of poverty and hardship
- Young people’s vocational development
Please visit the website for more details:
Morrisons Foundation
Provides small to medium sized grants to UK registered charities under the themes of
- Tackling poverty and social deprivation
- Enhancing community spaces, facilities and services
- Improving health and wellbeing
Please visit the website for more information
Whilst we make every effort to ensure the information is correct, we advise you to check details on funders websites yourself
Does this match your experience? Will you be adopting some of these recommendations or are you working on other areas to grow your income? Please tell us what you think by completing the short survey below.
If you missed last week’s Fundraising News please click here to view