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The World Giving Report's Charity Insights reveals the landscape for social purpose organisations in 27 countries around the world. Discover the key trends and challenges facing the sector.
Uncover deeper insights into generosity and social purpose organisations around the world. Understand what, how and why people give — and the state of the social sector — so you can shape smarter strategies, inspire greater generosity and drive more change.
When asked about their top three challenges, eight in ten charity leaders surveyed gave at least one answer related to finances (achieving financial sustainability, increased competition for funding, and the balance of restricted vs. unrestricted funding).
Secondary challenges centred around operational concerns, such as increasing costs, putting together a strong team, keeping up with demand for services and making the most of technology.
More than half of charities also mentioned challenges related to how they engage with the external environment, particularly in terms of raising awareness of their organisation and its work.
The two answers related to impact are the least selected by charities, with just under three in ten (29%) mentioning at least one.
While measuring and demonstrating impact is much more likely to be seen as a challenge than making an impact, data from the Donor Insights suggests charities may need to focus on this even further. This is because "knowing more about the results and impact that a charity has" is the third most likely thing to encourage people to give more (35% of people cite it).
If more charities could demonstrate impact well, it may help alleviate some of the fears around funding.
In the past 12 months, levels of demand increased for most of the charities surveyed, but it was highest in lower-income countries.
This was particularly the case for frontline charities, such as those working in health, poverty relief and humanitarian aid.
Charities of all sizes, everywhere, are expecting this demand to continue to increase in the next 12 months (83% predicting this).
The charities who have more diverse income streams are three times as likely to feel confident that they can manage demand while keeping operations running smoothly (66% are "very confident" vs. 22% on average).
"There is a significant increase in the demand for services offered by third sector organisations. In times of economic and social crisis, the number of people who depend on these institutions for access to basic assistance grows, but the available resources do not accompany this need. This mismatch between demand and service capacity makes it even more difficult for organisations to act, so they need to seek alternatives to continue fulfilling their fundamental role in society."
"Every day, more individuals walk through our doors in need of essentials like food, safe housing, mental health support, education, and employment pathways. This growing demand places an immense burden on already-stretched staff. Non-profit professionals — many of whom are deeply embedded in the communities we serve — are experiencing burnout due to increasing caseloads, stagnant wages, and limited organisational capacity."
Charities in high-income countries receive funding from 4.1 sources on average, compared to 3.4 in lower-income countries. The biggest differences are in the higher proportion of corporate donations, government funding and money from legacies.
Organisations in high-income countries enjoy around 50% more unrestricted funding than those in lower-income countries. On average, unrestricted funding makes up just 28% of charities’ income in low-income countries, compared to 40% for charities operating in high-income countries.
The difference is most stark for charities that receive all or most of their funding from abroad, where charities report around four-fifths (79%) of their income is restricted.
This may be the product of regulatory requirements that different countries have for cross-border giving, or the appetite of grant-makers and donors to give restricted funding overseas.
"Many charities operate on short-term, project-based funding, which creates instability. There’s limited access to multi-year funding, and very few funders support long-term growth or sustainability, making planning and innovation nearly impossible."
