What if the problem is that fundraising just got too easy?
The UK Giving report may say less about the end of fundraising… and more about the end of a forgiving market for average work.
The latest UK Giving report has triggered a wave of reaction. Some argue fundraising has lost its way. Others point to innovation, generational attitudes, cost of living pressures, declining trust, weak asks, over-branding or under-investment.
There’s truth in most of those arguments.
But I wonder whether we’re doing what sectors often do when uncomfortable data lands: reaching quickly for explanations and fixes that support what we already believed. Step back, and the picture looks both simpler… and harder.
The donor base has shrunk, and the market has become less forgiving.
The most striking thing in the report is not the fall in total giving. It’s the continued fall in participation. There are around six million fewer donors than a decade ago. Fewer people are giving. That matters because it changes the environment fundraising operates in.
For a long time, fundraising benefited from a broad culture of giving. Enough people donated regularly enough for charities to build predictable models around it. There was more habitual giving, more inherited generosity and more people who saw charitable support as part of what decent people did.
That gave the system some cushioning. Decent fundraising could work. Average fundraising could survive. Strong causes could rely on a baseline of goodwill and participation.
That environment is changing. Not because people have suddenly become selfish, charities have stopped mattering, or one fundraising discipline or communications trend single-handedly ‘broke’ the sector.
The reality is probably more uncomfortable. Giving is becoming more intentional. People are more selective with their attention, money and trust. Those who engage increasingly want to feel that their involvement matters, their gift is meaningful, the organisation understands them and the experience is worth their commitment.
In other words, the market is asking more of us. Fundraising still works. But it is no longer carried by momentum in the same way. And if participation is harder won, optimisation alone will not be enough. Better segmentation, smarter journeys, stronger integration and improved efficiency all matter. But they cannot compensate entirely for a shrinking pool of people willing to engage. Nor can we simply ‘ask louder’.
The answer is simpler than some of the hotter takes doing the rounds. But also harder.
The work has to matter more. The proposition sharper. The ask clearer. The emotional truth stronger. The supporter experience more considered and the sense of participation more meaningful. This applies across the board: DM, digital, brand campaigns, stewardship, regular giving, legacies and community fundraising. Every moment where someone decides whether they care enough to take part. Because that’s increasingly what fundraising is competing for: participation itself.
There’s a temptation to romanticise the past and imagine a purer era when fundraising simply worked better. That’s too simplistic. Creative standards, insight, integration and stewardship have improved. We understand audiences far better than we used to.
However, previous generations operated within a broader, more culturally embedded giving environment. The market was more forgiving. We shouldn’t panic, but we also shouldn’t kid ourselves that small adjustments alone will reverse what’s happening.
The encouraging part is that supporters who remain engaged are often incredibly committed. People haven’t stopped caring or wanting to help. Emotion, connection and belief in impact still sit at the heart of giving. But supporters are choosing more carefully. Maybe that’s not entirely a bad thing. Maybe it pushes us towards fundraising that is more thoughtful, emotionally honest, relevant and worth responding to. Less wallpaper. More meaning. Less assumption. More intention.
Fundraising isn’t ending. But the era of relying on inherited participation and passive goodwill may be fading. If so, the challenge is not finding one magic solution, new channel or perfect innovation. It is creating work that genuinely earns its place in people’s lives.
And honestly, that should excite us! Tougher markets expose weaker thinking, propositions and creative. But they also produce sharper strategy, better fundraising and more meaningful connections. The easy growth may be fading, but the opportunity to create fundraising that genuinely matters has probably never been greater.
This article was originally published in Civil Society’s Fundraising Magazine in September 2026 and is republished here with their kind permission.
Mark Tomkins, Creative Director, Different Kettle
