Make your fundraising efforts pay off in 2024

Strategic fundraising expert Catherine Brooks says canny not-for-profits can position their organisations to boost their share of the $13 billion donated each year to the community sector by focusing on where the money is.

Strategic fundraising expert Catherine Brooks says canny not-for-profits can position their organisations to boost their share of the $13 billion donated each year to the community sector by focusing on where the money is.

Ms Brooks, who sits on the Community Directors Council – an expert group advising ICDA on its mission and strategies – said that as individual donations softened, not-for-profit leaders should increase their understanding of growing giving segments such as trusts, foundations, major donors and bequests to broaden their funding base.

Now providing expert advice to NFPs through Wendy Brooks & Partners, she urged organisations to “focus their time and energy on the market segments where you’re going to get the best return on investment”.

Slump hits mass market donations

Ms Brooks noted that data from multiple sources showed that while giving had largely recovered from the covid-19 slump, the continued drop in “mass market” donations – individuals giving less than $1000 – reflected rising cost-of-living pressures on average households.

That drop shows up in philanthropic analysis carried out by JB Were in 2023, as well as donation data compiled by Social Ventures Australia and the Our Community donations platform GiveNow.

“There are far fewer people within our community that can give at the moment, and that’s obviously because of the rising cost of living,” Ms Brooks said.

Yet many potential donors were largely immune from the effects of rising interest rates, she said: wealthy donors, corporate and government givers, and some older Australians.

Data suggested that:

• the next two decades would witness the growth of “structured giving” (such as donations funnelled through family foundations), bequests, big philanthropy, and corporate donations
• mass market giving and volunteering could drop from 50 per cent of giving to as little as one-third in the next 12 years
• while the number of donors on Our Community’s giving platform, GiveNow, had returned to pre-covid levels, inflation had caused the real value of donations to dip.

Ms Brooks said US data revealed that total charitable giving had slumped by $170 billion in that country in 2022, a fall which has happened just three other times in the past 40 years, usually coinciding with financial crashes.

The biggest drop-off had occurred with individuals (down 6.4 per cent), while giving from foundations, bequests and companies had grown by between 2.3 and 3.4 per cent.

She said similar trends – including the “substantial” decline in individual giving – were evident in Australia.

And this appears to be a long-term trend, prompting Ms Brooks to encourage NFPs to consider fundraising strategies that don’t rely solely on fundraising from the general community.

The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) last year revealed that while there had been a rise in tax-deductible donations in the 2021 financial year to $4.39 billion, most of that was driven by the top end of town. Just 28 per cent of taxpayers were givers, according to the ACPNS’s report, representing the lowest proportion on record.

Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes, one of the report’s authors and also a Community Directors Council member, noted at the time that the low rate marked the third successive year in which fewer than 30 per cent of taxpayers claimed tax-deductible donations.

DGR boost could increase tax-time donations

The Albanese Government hopes that its push to “double” philanthropy by 2030 will arrest the decline in donations by the majority of Australians.

The main early recommendation of an interim report by the Productivity Commission, released in December, was to massively increase the number of charitable organisations able to claim DGR (deductible gift recipient) status.

The Commission wants to boost the number of DGR-status charities by 15,000 to 40,000. This would enable those charities to attract more donations from taxpayers, by providing a tax bonus for giving. The government hopes this will go a long way to boosting that flagging area of support.

Professor McGregor-Lowndes has previously argued that the federal government could do much better in this area, and has said that the whole DGR framework is needlessly complicated and needs a huge amount of reform.

“It is a national disgrace that politicians have dodged root-and-branch reform of the [DGR] tax concessions,” he said.

Other measures proposed by the Productivity Commission to boost donations include a new foundation aimed at First Nations people, moves to slash red tape, and better data on all kinds of giving. Read more recommendations here.

The Institute of Community Directors Australia (ICDA) spoke with the leaders of Fundraising Institute Australia, Equitable Philanthropy and GiveNow to assess the biggest fundraising trends this year.

In summary, their advice to fundraisers is to:

• press supporters to “pay what it takes”
• make the most of artificial intelligence, ethically
• keep gifts in wills at the front of mind
• think strategically
• demand that CEOs and boards take responsibility for raising funds
• invest in lasting relationships over one-off grant applications
• seek regular donations
• build committed members and supporters
• communicate impact more effectively
• commit to learning more about fundraising.

Charities regulator promises to tackle fundraising red tape

The head of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) says she will continue to champion red tape reduction for the sector’s fundraisers in 2024.

Commissioner Sue Woodward said, “Public facing fundraising is vital to the survival of most charities and not-for-profit organisations.”

“It’s competitive out there, and I acknowledge the hard work that goes into doing it well. For me, this makes it even more important that government red tape doesn’t get in the way.

“Thankfully, there are moves to make it easier to fundraise across Australia which will see significant savings (time and money) for the sector. Having helped champion this law reform over many years before I became ACNC commissioner, I am honestly relieved and excited for the implementation of this reform in 2024.”

She said the national fundraising principles agreed to by federal, state and territory governments this time last year would help create “a clear understanding of appropriate and ethical conduct”.

She said regulators in some states were already “well advanced” in consultations and drafting changes to their regulations, and the regulator would keep pushing to reduce the administrative burden on the sector.

But despite the ACNC’s support, advocates believe the reforms are happening too slowly.

Despite having agreed at a meeting in Canberra a year ago to a reform timetable, most states have missed deadlines to share their plans.

Each jurisdiction agreed to release an implementation plan by July last year explaining how it would introduce regulatory changes or new laws, but a recent analysis by the Coalition for Fundraising Reform revealed that only Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia have released their implementation plans.

Justice Connect is among the coalition’s members. The head of not-for-profit law at the organisation, Geraldine Menere, said, “The lack of action is concerning and casts a shadow over the prospects of successful harmonisation and genuine red tape reduction for charities anytime in the near future.”

Fundraising peak has an eye on big-picture trends

Ahead of her organisation’s three-day national conference in Sydney, Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) chief executive Katherine Raskob said three issues that should be front of mind for not-for-profits in 2025 were financial sustainability, artificial intelligence, and preparing for the looming rise in giving through wills.

Push to ‘pay what it takes’ continues

The FIA continues to advocate for “pay what it takes”, aimed ending the funding “starvation cycle” in the sector.

“Carrying on from the significant and positive awareness-raising last year, the “pay what it takes” and “reframe overhead” initiatives are important ones for 2025,” she said.

“It’s incredible that our sector is the only one that publicly competes to show who invests the least. Our sector has been in this ‘starvation cycle’ for so long; we all need to take responsibility for driving the change we want to see.”

The FIA supported a proposal in the Not-for-profit Sector Blueprint – a sector-driven plan being considered by the federal government – which promotes fully funding the NFP sector.

Raskob encouraged organisations to examine initiative four of the Blueprint, and to read research from the Reframe Overhead movement.

Artificial intelligence will test fundraisers

Raskob stressed that while fundraisers should use artificial intelligence (AI), human oversight was essential.

“We know the immense value of this tool for fundraising efficiency and it’s great to see it being used in a sector that can use all the efficiency gains available to us. As with any new tool, we need to train our teams to use the tool in ways that propel us forward while keeping an eye out for the risks.

“It will be important for fundraising organisations, if they haven’t already, to develop AI policies and protocols including transparency on the use of AI in the fundraising context. Of particular concern is the need for human oversight of any product of AI-generation to ensure it aligns with organisational values and does not impose threats to our organisation’s or sector’s reputation.”

The Institute of Community Directors Australia recently produced this help sheet on AI and governance frameworks, and published this special edition of Community Directors Intelligence and this book on the issue.

Fundraisers could benefit from trillions in generational generosity

It’s expected that a huge treasure trove of $2.6 trillion will be handed down to the next generation by 2040 as Australia’s population ages.

Raskob said gifts in wills and “intergenerational wealth transfer opportunities” would grow in importance for charities.

Organisations “need to be proactive with donors and supporters in helping them see the opportunities for charitable gift planning, not only while they are alive, but in perpetuity.”

Organisations should invest in their gifts in wills programs to “unlock a slice of the transfer of wealth”, she said.

Fundraisers gather to address trends

The Institute of Community Directors Australia will attend the FIA conference so it can share practical insights with community directors. The program addresses themes such as:

• seeking funds in a “cruel” and competitive environment
• dealing with the growing expectations of donors
• digital trends in data, metrics, crypto and artificial intelligence
• bequests, wills and intergenerational wealth transfers
• fundraising for advocacy
• fine-tuning storytelling, branding, pitching and fundraising “asks”.

Top charity warns NFPs to brace for fundraising shortfall

Tom Duggan, the head of fundraising at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) – also known as Doctors without Borders – agreed that the cost of living could hit fundraising income in 2024.

“All the current signs suggest the cost-of-living crisis will stay with us well into 2024 [and] one of its key impacts on Australian non-profits has been on fundraising: people are less likely to give, and when they do, they are giving less.”

But he stressed that the downturn should not be a reason for panic.

“This has not been catastrophic; in 2023 many organisations reported a 1–5 per cent downturn in giving from donors they already had on their books, but in a time where other costs continue to rise, this can have a big impact on the bottom line.”

He said not-for-profit leaders should think carefully before abandoning fundraising campaigns.

“Boards should monitor fundraising results carefully. There will be a strong temptation to pull back on donor acquisition activities that have poor initial cash flow. However, the organisations who bounce back strongly from challenging economic environments are the ones that keep a 5–10-year view of the fundraising. As with commercial organisations those who invest in brand and building the customer base during a downturn will reap greater benefits on the other side.”

Strategist says good fundraising is about partnerships

Catherine Brooks, chief executive of Equitable Philanthropy and a member of ICDA’s Community Directors Council, is developing an intensive program to be delivered over four weeks in May, for ICDA members wanting to seek funds effectively for the organisations they lead.

Brooks’ key message? “Fundraising isn’t just about asking for money – it’s about demonstrating value, building trust, and inspiring action.”

She argues that in understanding partnerships, charities and NFPs must “think beyond the cheque and consider what they can offer funders”.

This can involve supporting the work of funders by “inviting them into the work, helping them see the impact first-hand”, and linking funding with funder values and priorities.

She cites the example of a national social services charity that gave major donors early access to impact data, strategic plans and future challenges. This led to multi-year commitments from 80% of the funder partners.

In another case, a literacy charity linked to a corporate foundation invited workers to become literacy coaches and witness the benefits of their work. The result? A 50% funding boost the following year.

An organisation that shared key metrics and personal stories with a major philanthropic trust saw the trust then introduce the organisation to three new major donors.

“Funders expect more than passion,” Brooks said. “They want evidence of impact, alignment with their goals, and confidence that their support will deliver measurable results.”

NFPs can achieve a better fundraising result by ensuring directors and senior staff are heavily involved in the effort.

In interactions with funders, your CEO should be your chief relationship builder

“The role of the CEO in fundraising is no longer optional – it is essential,” said Brooks. “Funders want to connect directly with organisational leadership, and CEOs who can effectively pitch their vision, articulate impact and foster trust will open more doors.”

She recommended CEOs prioritise building personal relationships with funders, through one-on-one meetings, networking, and other forms of engagement.

“Your CEO should be meeting with at least one funder or potential donor per month. How else can they effectively develop deep relationships if not via meaningful face to face communication?”

She said boards should set key performance indicators (KPIs) for CEOs on fundraising, such as the number of funder engagements per quarter, and CEOs should receive “pitch training” to help them refine storytelling, donor engagement and presentation skills.

“Funders are increasingly drawn to leaders who can translate complex missions into compelling, actionable narratives,” she said.

Boards must also take ownership of fundraising

Brooks said that boards were often underused in fundraising, “yet their influence and networks can significantly enhance an organisation’s capacity to secure funds”.

“How many members of your board can name the donors and supporters of the organisation? How many of them have met with your donors? How many of them have thanked a donor in the last month, the last year? This type of engagement is key and donors deserve this level of respect and thanks as a minimum for their generous financial support.”

To boost board involvement, Brooks said organisations should:

• have a board-led fundraising strategic plan with clear expectations, roles and goals for members
• provide training to help board members understand their responsibilities in fundraising, including donor stewardship and leveraging personal networks, such as through ICDA’s Advanced Leadership for Chairs
• foster accountability by including fundraising contributions ino board evaluations.

Aussie donors to favour domestic causes

Another fundraising trend in 2024 will be a shift by Australian donors to more local causes, Mr Duggan believes.

“Since the outbreak of covid-19, many organisations have noted the Australian public turning more inward.

“Financially, organisations focused on supporting Australians doing it tough have flourished, with an outpouring of generosity. At the same time organisations dealing with traditionally progressive focuses – refugees or the environment – have struggled.

“While large-scale emergencies such as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza captured headlines, devastating earthquakes in Afghanistan and Türkiye/Syria left the news cycle days after they happened.”

And he said that public sentiment about the climate crisis seemed to have calmed under the current federal government, despite climate-focused organisations calling for more action, more quickly.

He said that the shifts could be “cyclical”, but in the meantime, “boards should understand the position their mission puts them in”.

He said that many charities providing international aid “may not have as much media coverage as they have had in the past”, with commercial newsrooms employing fewer reporters overseas and giving international news reduced priority, or using wire or partner services to provide coverage.

For domestic charities, “they should be making hay while the sun shines, investing in growth when it is cheapest”.

And he said for organisations whose causes are “less media friendly, they should be challenging their teams to find ways beyond traditional media to ensure their voice is heard.”

Relationships are more important than randomly applying for grants

Brooks warned that “the era of scattershot grant applications is over”.

“Instead, NFPs must invest time and resources in cultivating meaningful, long-term relationships with funders. Building trust and alignment will yield more sustainable funding than chasing ad hoc opportunities.”

She recommended that organisations:

• have measurable targets for engagement with funders by the CEO and the chair
• allocate resources to researching funders, including identifying potential partners
• shift from a “transactional” to a “relational” approach with funders, involving regular updates, inviting funders to events, and sharing impact stories.

Brooks said resources were available to help organisations do better in all these areas and wrote this help sheet explaining how the Community Compass report on public attitudes towards not-for-profits could be used to understand different donor types.

ICDA’s sibling enterprise the Funding Centre also maintains extensive resources and guidance on funding opportunities, while ICDA trainers offer several relevant webinars and courses

Your biggest supporters at the smaller end of town are still valuable

GiveNow executive director Cathy Truong said that organisations should shore up their existing support base even if they pursued new funding streams. She stressed that even though donations had fallen as much as 5 per cent in recent years, the vast majority of donors were still active.

“Organisations also need to focus on what they have, as well as seeking to counter any losses.”

She said that anecdotally, some organisations appeared to have over-reacted to the slump, and were unwilling to ask long-time donors for support.

“Continue to ask is my advice. Sure, organisations should keep things simple, given the smaller donor market is not a growth area in 2024, but I’ve seen many organisations ask effectively from that mass support base, winning great rewards for that effort.

She said when it came to reaching smaller donors, the most successful organisations shared some common traits.

“Those organisations that are well connected to their community and that can demonstrate meaningful results continue to receive well-deserved donations,” Ms Truong said.

She added that while financial support from donors supplied precious funds, donations also strengthened an organisation’s connections to its community.

Maintaining community engagement with past and potential donors was important as part of a long-term strategy that would pay dividends for an organisation as cost-of-living pressures subsided, she said.

Stay focused for effective online fundraising

Cathy Truong, executive director of donations platform GiveNow, also advised NFPs to prioritise long-term supporter relationships.

“For not-for-profits looking to cut through the noise in 2025, the best strategy is not to chase fleeting attention, but to invest in lasting relationships,” she said.

“Organisations that focus on sustained engagement through regular donations and committed membership bases will build stronger, more resilient communities of support.”

How to keep your donors engaged

She said the “abundance of competition for engagement” from other charities, businesses, influencers and media outlets, coupled with decreasing attention spans, meant that not-for-profits must work smarter to remain relevant and “front of mind”.

While some organisations were naturally the focus of public discourse and media interest, such as those involved in anti-racism, climate change and social cohesion, for others “the challenges are local” and required consistent activity.

“For these organisations, the answer is not to chase the widest possible audience but to cultivate deeper, more meaningful relationships with a committed core base,” Truong said.

She advised those organisations especially to focus on retaining loyal donors instead of chasing casual ones. Strong donations and membership programs would help, she said.

Regular donations will reward canny organisations

Truong said GiveNow’s records showed the value of committed supporters.

“At GiveNow, we have observed that despite broader trends in digital engagement, regular giving has remained largely steady for the past five years. While one-off donations can fluctuate depending on external factors such as economic conditions and media cycles, regular donors provide a stable, predictable source of income. On average, we see that monthly donors stay engaged for approximately two years, making them an incredibly valuable segment for organisations looking to build sustainability.”

Practical steps for improving a regular giving strategy included:

• encouraging monthly giving in donation appeals
• communicating impact consistently to show donors how their contribution was making a difference
• being flexible, and allowing for adjusting and pausing payments.

Building a committed membership will pay dividends

Truong also stressed the value of a healthy membership.

“A well-structured membership program is more than just an annual donation, it is a way to secure permission for ongoing engagement. Membership models encourage people to invest in your mission not just financially, but also emotionally and socially,” Truong said.

A strong membership program provides:

• a reliable annual revenue, enabling long-term planning
• regular communication opportunities with engaged members
• a readymade advocacy network to promote an organisation’s messages.

Truong said that organisations seeking to develop their membership program should:

• offer tangible benefits, such as exclusive reports and event invitations
• use storytelling – including case studies or key metrics – at least every six months to remind members why their support matters
• use digital tools to provide seamless sign-up and renewal processes.

GiveNow – related to ICDA as one of Our Community’s social enterprises – boasts more than 5,000 causes and more than half a million donors on its web-based giving platform, including thousands of mid-sized and smaller groups.

Keep your supporters close

Ms Brooks agreed that organisations pursuing emerging funding avenues should continue to cultivate community support and maintain effective campaigns, especially anything with a local focus.

She said UK studies had found that many charities were reluctant to ask supporters for help, and in that region more than one-third of residents couldn’t remember being recently asked for help. There was every reason to expect the trends were occurring here too, she said.

She echoed Ms Truong’s message: “Don’t assume there’s giving fatigue. Ask.”

“We always tell our clients that people will be very grateful to be told about the good work that you are doing, and if they can give, they will give. And, if they can’t give now, they will remember you if you keep communicating with them at the point that they are able to give.”

Ms Brooks said that telling stakeholders about the good work an organisation was doing meant explaining the impact of a program, which might be told through a case study showing a significant difference to someone’s life.

It was worth considering “to what end?” in all NFP communications with supporters, she said. What donations did an organisation hope to encourage through contact with supporters?

She supported the strategy, often promoted by GiveNow, of seeking small, regular donations from supporters to generate strong regular income.

“We know from data that once you get someone to commit a regular monthly donation, you have very low attrition rates. Once you make a regular gift that you can afford, it’s budgeted for. Regular givers can also become potential candidates for your gifts in wills program.”

She said it was vital to continue to thank donors, including encouraging board members to reach out to supporters with direct thank-you phone calls as part of a donor stewardship program.

These messages were also an opportunity to seek greater support from those within that community who might have a greater capacity to give larger amounts, or to commit to a bequest, she said.

She said high net worth Australians (with more than $1.5 million in liquid assets) gave more than $1,000 with every donation.

Ms Brooks said the latest trends in giving and philanthropy showed organisations must adapt existing tactics and strategies to maximise giving, and must understand that each “market segment” of donors required a different approach.

Pressure on professional fundraisers to counter cyberthreats and address staffing shortfall

Fundraising Institute Australia, which represents the not-for-profit sector’s fundraising agencies, has highlighted the fact that organisations wanting to ramp up their fundraising activities face challenges, nominating staffing shortages, data privacy and security challenges and the influence of artificial intelligence as significant trends.

FIA chief executive Katherine Raskob said her organisation had observed a “concerning trend around staff shortages” in the fundraising industry. She said every missing staffer “means a lost opportunity for securing resources required to meet the demands for services during a period of economic uncertainty”.

She said fundraisers would need to focus on improved privacy and security after last year’s mass data privacy breach by third-party telemarketer Pareto Phone, which affected more than 70 Australian charities.

“FIA is working with members to remind them of their obligations under the FIA Code to protect the privacy of donors and the security of data,” she said.

The advent of artificial intelligence would create “efficiencies and opportunities” for fundraisers, she said, but the sector would continue to “grapple with the best ways to use the tools in authentic, transparent and ethical ways”.

“While tools can be used to automate laborious manual tasks and repetitive processes, it is important fundraisers remain closely involved. After all, fundraising is the art of asking with heart.”

Big trusts have cash to splash, if you get on their good side

Ms Brooks said for NFPs seeking new avenues of fundraising, the Australian philanthropic sector featured a large number of generous philanthropic trusts, with the top 50 now distributing more than $1 billion in largesse, a figure that has doubled since 2017.

While trusts and foundations generated a high return on investment by the charities and NFPs courting them, they also required a great deal of relationship building and maintenance.

In short, good connections can pay off, she said.

A “cold” or unsolicited application for funding had less than a 10 per cent likelihood of success, while a “warm” invitation to apply by that same funder had a 60 per cent win rate, according to her company’s intelligence.

Board members, the CEO and other leaders should be encouraged to spend more time researching and developing those relationships, and understanding which trusts and foundations operated in their regions, she said, since many funders distributed funds close to home.

Emphasising the relationship part of the equation, she said that the “ask” or “solicitation” part of the fundraising cycle accounted for just 5 per cent of the fundraising effort. By comparison, cultivation and stewardship of donors should take up 75 per cent of the effort of fundraising, with identifying potential donors the next largest investment at 20 per cent of the effort.

Corporate giving on the rise

Ms Brooks said higher income givers – including trusts – expected more information about the rationale for giving than other donors, and this meant that NFPs courting bigger givers must focus on data, statistics, research and impact analysis, rather than on the emotive case studies that appeal to individuals.

Our Community recently highlighted examples of charities that had done an excellent job of communicating both data and stories about their work.

Ms Brooks said leading philanthropic analysts JB Were considered that corporate giving – worth about $5 billion annually – was “widely misunderstood”.

As a result, not-for-profits must become more sophisticated in developing their understanding of and relationships with major donors and corporate givers.

Initially, this might mean identifying existing corporate connections on your board or through other relationships. Knowing a board member is one of the top reasons why funders choose a particular organisation to fund.

If a corporation has already set up a giving fund, “they’ve already made a decision to distribute money,” Ms Brooks said.

She said funders were quick to assess key issues such as board membership, previous funding offers, social impact and solid financial management.

Crucially, any organisation should consider such a relationship only if there is a good “alignment” with an NFP’s mission, Ms Brooks said. Even if it is challenging for the NFP to attract funding for its particular mission, the pay-off can be very good for NFPs and charities with a “strong brand”.

An animal welfare organisation could connect with a pet food supplier, for example, or an organisation helping women and children might find a natural fit with a corporate sponsor wanting to demonstrate their goodwill to the community, she said.

Wills could be a major income source for NFPs

Ms Brooks said not-for-profits with great community connections were well placed to benefit from bequests in people’s wills.

She said a vast treasure trove of $2.6 trillion was set to be handed to the next generation between now and 2040, including $1.1 trillion in the coming decade as Australia’s population ages.

She said the average gift given in a will was $60,000, and those funds are often available to be used for any purpose (known in the industry as “untied funding”). As a result, all NFPs should establish a “gifts in wills” program, Ms Brooks said, and she suggested organisations should at a minimum:

• create a web page encouraging such bequests
• create connections with will companies
• support the benefits of gifts with case studies and by thanking givers
• ask existing supporters whether they had left a gift in their will and offer to provide help to donate to the organisation.

While some clients had seen benefits flowing from such programs in as little as two years, in general, asking anyone over 70 to commit was leaving it too late, she said.

Instead, she suggested organisations should approach potential givers facing major life events such as marriage, children and home purchases, which are likely to have them thinking about their wills.

She stressed that organisations should be ready to demonstrate their “ask” by outlining the kinds of projects that would benefit from a gift.

An additional benefit of gifts in wills was that those funds are not considered taxable income. As a result, a charity or cause does not need deductible gift recipient (DGR) status to attract a tax benefit.

Organisations set to gain from benefactors in wills should be wary of legal strife, with recent cases of charities wrongly named in wills now being fought in the courts.

Professor McGregor-Lowndes said organisations may want to remind benefactors to ask: "When naming an organisation in your will, how do you know it will still exist at the time of the distribution of your estate?”

Get your grants game on

Ms Brooks said that for many organisations, early in the year was a great time to be proactive and submit grant applications.

“We find that on average that there’s 30 per cent fewer charities submitting grant applications in December to February, because people are away or on leave.”

She suggested not-for-profits interested in knowing about potential grants and learning more about trusts, foundations and corporate givers in their region should consider signing up to Our Community’s Funding Centre, which had nearly 6000 live grants listed at the last count.

Funding Centre grants database manager Stefanie Ball said that 2024 grant rounds would be opening soon and that not-for-profits should review federal, state and territory budgets to look for local opportunities. Other useful sources of finance in the coming year – with their own grants cycles – were philanthropic and corporate sources, and one-off grants for special intiatives, such as disaster relief.

Groups should prepare a grants strategy that exploits opportunities in their sub-sector and draw on the habits of successful grantseekers, not the least of which is applying for more grants, Ms Ball said.

Ms Ball predicted an increase in grants related to digital transformation, climate change and sustainability, “and in fact grants that harness technology to address climate change”.

Ms Ball said the first and third quarters of the year were the busiest for grant rounds opening, with many funders taking applications in March, April and October.

“Preparation is the key,” Ms Ball said.

More information

Watch and learn: Fundraising Update with Catherine Brooks ($88 for ICDA members)

Tips for cultivating the support of Australia's biggest donors

Seven pillars of fundraising | Ten fundraising mistakes to avoid

Get started on GiveNow | Crowdfunding basics

Understanding deductible gift recipient (DGR) status

Wealthy Australians drive tax deductible donations to $4.4 billion: report

Books: Fundraising titles, including bundles | Winning grants

More information

FIA conference program

Training: From pitch to impact, an intensive course with Catherine Brooks, May 6–30

Equitable Philanthropy

Get started on GiveNow: Donations | Memberships | Crowdfunding

Community Directors Intelligence: The fundraising edition