New report · Major Donor Scorecard · 2024–2026
Most charities are closer to major donor fundraising than they realise
Two years. 201 UK charities. One free report on what it really takes to raise money from major donors, and the small, fixable gap holding most charities back.
By sharing your contact details with us this way you acknowledge that we will add those details to our mailing list and will send you emails about our services as a result. We will never share anyone’s data outside of the organisation.
At any stage, you can opt out of these emails by hitting unsubscribe at the end of the mail.
52%
The average charity is just over half ready for major donor fundraising. The groundwork is closer than it feels, and most of what is missing is fixable.
Most sector reports show the polished version, the one presented from the conference stage. This one is built from 201 honest self-assessments: the answers fundraisers gave quietly at their own desks, for their own benefit. It is the most candid picture of major donor fundraising we have seen, and it is more hopeful than the sector's self-doubt suggests.
24%
have a prioritised list of donors to approach
15%
have a planned programme of donor communications. The lowest-scoring question in two years
£8.3→£11.3bn
the rise in giving by the wealthy between 2020 and 2024
The opportunity is growing. Most charities simply have not built the pipeline to meet it yet.
What's inside the full report?
✓ Where the sector is strong, and where it falls down, across all twenty scorecard questions
✓ Why the smallest charities have the most to gain, and where they should start
✓ Three shifts in UK giving that point charities towards major donors
✓ Four practical steps to move your own programme forward this year
✓ Benchmarks to see exactly how your charity compares with the rest of the sector
Written for fundraisers, chief executives and trustees at charities of any size, and especially the small and mid-sized organisations deciding whether major donor fundraising is for them. (It is.)
Built by Money Tree Fundraising
Beth Upton has been a professional fundraiser since 2002 and specialises in high-value fundraising from trusts and major donors. She built the Major Donor Scorecard after years of hearing the same worry from fundraisers: that major donors were for other, bigger charities. The data is her answer.
Money Tree Fundraising helps charities of all sizes grow their high-value giving through consultancy, training and interim resourcing.
Get your copy of the report
Haven't taken the scorecard yet? Measure your own readiness in about two minutes at majordonorscorecard.co.uk
Money Tree Fundraising · [email protected] · www.moneytreefundraising.co.uk