The UK's top 100 fundraising charities enjoyed growth in fundraised income of £348m over a two-year period, according to the biennial Directors of Fundraising Survey published by Fundraising Magazine this month.
The fundraised total listed in the magazine's 2015 survey stands at £3.9bn, up from £3.5bn in the previous 2013 study.
The charity with the biggest fundraising growth was Macmillan Cancer Support which increased its fundraised income by £56.5m over the two years from £127.4m to £183.9m.
The fundraised total for each charity was calculated by adding the voluntary income to the legacy total. The 2015 survey was compiled using figures from 2013 accounts in order to gain a complete picture of all charities for a single year, as several had not yet submitted accounts for the financial year ending 2014.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution was another charity with a large increase in fundraised income. It raised an extra £28m - from £142.1m in the year ending 2011 to £170.1 in 2013.
Cancer Research grew its income by £21.7m from £351m in the year ending 2011 to £372.7m for the year ending 2013.
Opportunity
Some 65 per cent of the fundraising directors who responded to the survey cited “major donor fundraising” as one of the biggest areas of opportunity for 2015.
“Corporate partnerships” was highlighted as an area of growth for the coming year by 40 per cent of respondents, while “branding and advertising” was listed by 26 per cent of respondents.
Other fundraising opportunities that piqued the interest of Britain’s top fundraising directors were “online fundraising”, cited by 37 per cent of respondents, and “text and mobile technology” by 28 per cent of directors.
The big buzzword of 2014, “social investment” was listed by just 6 per cent of respondents as an area of growth for the coming year.
Top of the agenda as an area of concern was the pressure to “maintain fundraised income levels”, selected by 45 per cent of respondents.
The challenge of recruiting and retaining staff was flagged by a large proportion of respondents – serving as a possible reflection of the improved financial climate in the world of fundraising.
“Attracting good staff” was cited as a major challenge by 44 per cent of respondents, while issues related to “retaining good staff” was flagged by 42 per cent of fundraising directors.
Click here to read the full Directors of Fundraising Survey 2015.
