Great Foundations in Fundraising

A practical guide

What’s the state of fundraising in Australia?

Fewer Australians are donating, but the ones who do are giving more — and increasingly giving online and monthly. The fundamentals of good fundraising matter more now than ever.

Australian giving is in a complicated spot. The proportion of Australians who don’t donate at all rose from 35% in 2021 to 42% in 2024. Cost of living is the obvious driver, but there’s a longer-term structural shift too — an aging donor base, declining trust in institutions, and younger donors who give differently (more impulsively, more digitally, more in response to stories than appeals).

At the same time, total dollars are holding up. The donors who remain are giving more. Monthly giving now accounts for roughly 31% of online nonprofit revenue and is growing year on year. And online giving hit record levels in 2024, growing 2.2% on the previous year.

What this means for your nonprofit: the pool of donors is smaller, but the people in it are more engaged and more generous. The fundamentals of fundraising — understanding why people give, making it easy, and showing them their gift mattered — are more important now than ever.

Why do people give?

Article 1 • 21 MAY 2026

People give for a mix of reasons — moral responsibility, social identity, emotional reward, and the desire for their life to matter. Understanding these motivations helps you craft appeals that actually resonate.

How do donors choose which charities to support?

Article 2 • 21 MAY 2026

Donors choose based on five things: their personal passions, their professional background, whether they trust your organisation to deliver, whether they can see their gift making a difference, and — often overlooked — whether your organisation's personality matches theirs.

What should you sort out before you start fundraising?

Article 3 • 21 MAY 2026

Your values, your vision, your objectives, and whether you actually know where your money comes from. We've seen plenty of nonprofits jump straight to campaign tactics without this groundwork — and it almost always shows.

Why does a balanced fundraising portfolio matter?

Article 4 • 21 MAY 2026

Relying on one revenue stream is the most common fundraising risk we see. If events are your main source and something disrupts them (as 2020 proved), you're in trouble. Diversification isn't complicated, but it does need to be deliberate.

How do you craft a brilliant appeal?

Article 5 • 21 MAY 2026

Every good campaign passes two tests: can your team actually deliver it, and will your audience care? Assess both before you commit resources.

Why is regular giving so important?

Article 6 • 21 MAY 2026

If we could give every nonprofit one piece of fundraising advice, it would be this: build your monthly giving program. It's the most reliable way to create predictable revenue, and it's where the sector is heading.

Case study: The Smith Family — Learning for Life

Article 7 • 21 MAY 2026

The Smith Family's Learning for Life program is one of Australia's most effective regular giving campaigns. Sponsors commit to $52 a month (a dollar a day) to support a disadvantaged young person's education from primary school through to Year 12.

How does peer-to-peer fundraising work?

Article 8 • 21 MAY 2026

Peer-to-peer campaigns tap into your supporters' personal networks to reach people you'd never reach directly. They're one of the best ways to attract new donors — but they only work if you actually support your fundraisers.

Case study: RSPCA — Cupcake Day

Article 9 • 21 MAY 2026

RSPCA's Cupcake Day is a long-running Australian peer-to-peer campaign where supporters bake and sell cupcakes to raise funds for animal welfare. It's simple, fun, and accessible — anyone can participate regardless of fitness level or location.

What are the steps to a successful fundraising campaign?

Article 10 • 21 MAY 2026

Start with your audience, build messaging around their motivations, choose channels based on where they actually are, and close with thanks and impact reporting. Here's the full process.

Ten fundraising commandments

Article 11 • 21 MAY 2026

GiveNow (givenow.com.au) — Australia’s longest-running online fundraising platform for registered charities
Raisely (raisely.com) — flexible platform with strong peer-to-peer and event tools
Fundraising & Philanthropy Australia (fandp.com.au) — sector news, benchmarks, and professional development
Giving Australia (philanthropy.org.au) — research and data on Australian giving trends

If you’d like help building a fundraising campaign or auditing your current program, that’s exactly the kind of thing we do. Get in touch.