The mostly positive history of charitable giving in Australia – Part 2

A big number, still positive, but…

At first I nodded and smiled, the figure from the recently released Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission (ACNC) 12th edition of the Australian Charities Report, supported the continued positive growth of charitable giving. Unfortunately, it took seconds for the penny to drop. It is a good effort but is it enough?

The Australian Giving report collates all donations and bequests reported by reporting charities. Last year, charities reported a record $14.8 billion received compared to the previous years total of $14 billion (adjusted to account for a single significant gift of $4.9 billion). That is a 5.7% increase and continues an average increase of around 5-6 percent per year over the last 10 years. This figure is $10 billion more than the claimed tax deductible giving in part one of this article. The ACNC doesn’t require organisations to report the split between donations and bequests which is disappointing. It would be interesting to see if any trends emerge, like the much talked about intergenerational wealth transfer for example. On a side note, the Unlocking Generosity Report estimated bequests at 4% of giving. I think it is higher for many charities, and for these, the exponencial growth expected in bequests could make an incredible difference.

14.8 billion is a big number and it is positive growth, but is it a great number?

The financial reality

Increases is charitable giving is NOT keeping ahead of the increases in cost to raise funds and provide services plus salary increases. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 3% in the middle of 2025 and is currently sitting above 4%. That change alone erodes a good portion of the 5.7% increase in giving, add wages increases, as measured by the Wage Price Index (WPI), which rose by a minimum 3.3% and we are potentially going backwards. Of course, it is not the case that charities are returning losses.

In reality, charities typically respond in two key ways to this conundrum, deriving income from goods and services and reducing costs.

Enterprising organisations are leaning harder into goods and services and, according to ACNC, this income increased by 36% across the sector. The downside is these ventures can often lead to resources being diverted away from mission and purpose.

A quick fix is to reduce costs, read: “cut programs, staff and fundraising investment”. Problem solved, except for the resulting reduction in services for clients, less research grants, less of everything the organisation was set up to action for the good of society. In regard to fundraising investment, fundraisers know a sustainable program requires sustained commitment. Many charities let staff go and give up on programs because they haven’t returned a profit before the end of financial year and even more so in a downturn.

Neither approach moves “us” towards a better outcome.

We need to do better

Reports like Unlocking Generosity and wisdom from industry experts are so important to challenge our goal setting and our investment in people. I do believe charitable giving will continue to be positive, increasing year on year, however, with the increasing costs for our organisations to do good stuff, we need to push the envelope. This will require organisations who fundraise to invest in people, in training and importantly on helping leaders understand how an investment in, and a long term commitment to, fundraising will make a difference.

Next Part 3 – Digging into the numbers and stats behind the big figures.

1. Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission, (2026) Australian Charities Report 12th Edition.
2. Minderoo Foundation, & Edward Alexander Foundation. (2026). Unlocking generosity: The potential gains from expanding access to advice on charitable giving (B. Ruting, Author). Brad Ruting Economic Consulting.