Raising More Income Remains the Top Objective for Individual Giving Fundraisers - So: What are the Most Important Factors at Play Today?
In 2025, amidst economic uncertainty, fluctuating donor confidence, and the rising costs of living, raising more income remains the unchallenged top priority for individual giving fundraisers. This is not just about “survival”; it’s about adapting, thriving, and ensuring that our causes remain well-resourced to do vital work. According to Woods Valldata’s 2025 Individual Giving Fundraising Survey, a remarkable 71.5% of fundraisers cite income growth as their foremost aim—a trend that’s only intensified in recent years.
But what’s really driving this laser focus? What are the most critical levers that today’s fundraising leaders are pulling, and how can services like those offered by Woods Valldata make the difference? In this blog, we examine the main factors shaping effective fundraising strategies—bringing together first-hand insights, the latest industry data, and expert recommendations from our recent sector webinar: The Lowdown. Available now for UK charity fundraisers to watch on demand.
The Economic and Political Backdrop
The UK’s fundraising sector is navigating a period unlike any in recent memory. The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) explain that 44% of charity leaders cite cost rises as one of their main challenges, up 14% from four years ago.
As Jade Deeley, Head of Individual Giving at Samaritans, explained during The Lowdown:
“We’re being asked to do more with less. Sustaining income isn’t enough—costs are rising across the board, and unrestricted income is vital just to keep pace.”
UK economic and political uncertainty—cuts to government aid, cost inflation, and shifting donor priorities—have all combined to place additional pressure on charities, making income growth not just desirable, but essential.
The Twin Pillars: Acquisition and Retention
The sector is crystal clear: robust supporter acquisition and retention strategies are the “brilliant basics” facilitate raising more income.
- Acquisition: Growing the supporter base effectively, targeting audiences with high potential, and optimising the return on every pound invested.
- Retention: Maximising supporter lifetime value by delivering excellent stewardship, regular and relevant communications, and crafting journeys that encourage repeat giving.
The survey shows 64.7% of fundraisers rate acquisition as a top-three objective, with 57% highlighting retention—a 13.3% uplift on last year.
The Importance of Data and Insight
Across the media the news is out that data-led approaches lead to significantly improved results. Sally Bownes, Head of Loyalty at Save the Children provided insight during The Lowdown into why listening to our supporters is essential in raising more income for our causes. Listening, understanding and using that insight in your ongoing supporter journeys unlocks value.
"Being audience-centric rather than product centric unlocks the best experience you can give people. We’re looking at all the different data points we can have and how we can understand what’s going on in people’s worlds so that we can add value into their lives.”
It’s often daunting to not only start collecting this sort of data but knowing how to use it to build better relationships with your supporters. That’s where working with partners such as Sequoia Insights can help, providing advanced segmentation, propensity modelling, and journey mapping—ensuring every campaign is both effective and efficient.
Channel Diversification: Lotteries, Raffles and More
Another striking trend is the diversification of giving products. This year, for the first time, lottery has emerged as the number one individual giving product among the 173 responders to the 2025 Woods Valldata Individual Giving Fundraising Survey, with 35% ranking it top product —an insight echoed in the recent Open Creates charity benchmarks report which shows significant growth in lottery over recent years.
Prize-led fundraising (including lotteries, raffles, and other gaming) is increasingly popular, offering stability in uncertain times, offering a compelling ‘give and get’ value proposition, strong appeal across supporter demographics, and, crucially, regular unrestricted income.
Jade Deeley, Head of Individual Giving at Samaritans, shared during The Lowdown that although the nature of their cause restricts investment in lottery, it presents an exciting opportunity for charities as an adaptation to regular giving in raising more income:
“You can make a small adaptation to something that's already working really well, and you can attract a new type of supporter, or a supporter that might not be willing to otherwise set up a standard, regular gift.”
Woods Valldata’s lottery and raffle services make product launch, fulfilment, response handling, and compliance straightforward, letting charities focus on acquisition, creativity and supporter engagement.
Facing Forward: The Need for Strategic Partnerships
Economic, regulatory, and market headwinds show no sign of abating. So how can charities ensure their fundraising ambitions are achieved?
Integrated partnerships offering fundraising services for charities remain critical:
- Working with sector specialists like Woods Valldata allows charities to access best-in-class products (lottery, raffle), leading-edge data strategy (with Sequoia Insights), and gold-standard supporter experience (response handling, thanking, fulfilment).
- Collaboration means gaining extra capacity, technical know-how, and creative ideas—enabling fundraising teams to focus on what matters most.
Woods Valldata: Your Partner in Raising More Income
In 2025 and beyond, raising more income is the ultimate objective for individual giving leaders—but to achieve it requires a blend of robust strategy, the right mix of giving products, data-driven decision-making, and a relentless focus on supporter experience at every touchpoint.
Woods Valldata stands ready to partner with your charity—whether you need to launch a lottery, improve your data strategy, scale up response handling and fulfilment, or transform your supporter journeys. Speak to one of our specialists today to find out how we can help you achieve your fundraising ambitions.
