The Worst Fundraising in Over 25 Years?

Spring has arrived – and with it a dose of both good and bad news.

The good news, highlighted by Enthuse’s annual Charity Pulse report, is that over 75% of charity leaders reported that their charities had either maintained or increased their fundraising income in 2024, as compared with 2023.

Only 20% saw a decline in fundraising over the same period.

This is remarkable, bearing in mind that many leading fundraising professionals have described the post-Covid era as the worst they have known in over 25 years. This is certainly Minerva’s experience, following a noted downturn in statutory grants; fewer and smaller grants from trusts and foundations owing to reduced investment performance; and greater competition for National Lottery funding.

This has resulted in a number of small charities merging or closing down. Some trusts and foundations, eg. the Foyle Foundation, have paused their grant programmes or closed them down completely.

Adding to this challenging situation are the results of Charity Job’s “I quit!” survey, which found that over 60% of charity employees leave owing to a toxic workplace culture, whilst over 52% cited “mediocre leadership” as a major source of dissatisfaction.

All of us working in the Charity Sector have long prided ourselves in the supposed superior ethics leadership and people management we display, compared with organisations in the private and public sector. This report indicates that we may be the victims of wishful thinking.

The Charity Sector cannot afford to provide the levels of remuneration commonplace in the private and public sectors, so it must offer job satisfaction and a workplace environment in which people enjoy working. Failure to achieve this will store up major problems for the future.