83% of Australians plan to donate this EOFY — New research shows how to win them over
This article was initially published on Fundraising & Philanthropy Magazine.
Christmas may be Australians’ favourite time of year to donate, but Tax is where they give the most.
As part of ntegrity’s bi-annual donor sentiment research, we surveyed 1,000 Australians aged 18 to 65+ and older, representing all genders, states, and income levels, from $0 to $1m annually — to track how donor behavior and sentiment is shifting ahead of End of Financial Year season 2025.
The good news we’ve all been waiting for — donor sentiment this year is trending up! 83% of Australians plan to donate the same amount or more this year, compared to just 59% last year.
However the giving market is anything but stable with everything from the upcoming Australian election to global events like the Trump administration’s daily proclamations. The key to achieving fundraising growth this Tax season is to tap into four pockets of opportunity we’ve identified through the data.
1. Focus on the Mid and Major Donors who plan to increase their giving in 2025.
79% of major donors and 59% of mid-value donors plan to increase their giving in 2025, compared to just 28% of all Australians. The key reasons being that they have greater financial capacity, feel more aware of issues and needs, and a stronger emotional connection to the causes they care about.
Having a strategic and segmented approach to galvanise mid-value and major donors is important to gaining some of this intention to donate more. Everything from priming them in advance to developing specific collateral and asks that align to their giving motivations and giving capacity.
In 2024, we worked with The Climate Council to develop a mid-value donor proposition — the ‘2030 Action Plan’. The Climate Council then sent the 2030 Action Plan to donors well in advance of Tax Time, so donors understood Climate Council’s long term plans in detail before they followed up with Appeal mailouts and follow up calls to speak directly to donors. This resulted in 18% growth year on year of the mid-value audience — despite a tough economic climate, proving a personalised approach matters!
2. There’s still time to convince the ‘floating donor’.
There’s still 40% of over 65 year olds who don’t know who they’ll donate to this EOFY (compared to 34% of Australians) — who we’ve termed the ‘floating donor’.
This requires both an offensive and defensive move from not-for-profits, as competition is high.
Defense action: Without a guarantee that past donors will give to your charity or cause, you need to stand out in a sea of sameness and protect your space this year. Stewardship and retention activity is critical, especially in the lead up to June 30.
Offense action: Don’t wait until June to be in market, launch your campaign early (mid May being optimal) to reach and influence both your existing and potential new audiences during their planning phase. Digital can be an effective channel for this, using emotive storytelling and priming ads to build connection to your cause. This is also a cheaper time to be in market so bang for advertising buck is better than the end of June.
3.Digital is a critical battleground to win on this year.
We’ve been tracking channel preference for over four years and continue to see online grow as the #1 most preferred channel. While we recognise that for most charities 50% or more of cash revenue will come via Direct Mail (DM) and relationship managers, digital is an excellent support channel and is where volume will come from and value is increasing year on year.
Older Australians aged 65+ are spending increasing amounts of their time on digital. 81% of older Australians already use tech to keep in touch with family and friends, 85% enjoy using the Internet, and 76% regularly search for information online (Benetas & We Are Social 2025).
Alongside your other channels like DM and Email, ensure that digital has a strategy and investment too. Make sure to:
Understand the role of each channel in your paid media mix and optimise your budget accordingly. Prioritise Paid Search, then Meta for smaller budgets to focus on telling your case for support story and driving conversions with existing audiences and lookalike audiences. With larger budgets expanding into display and video allow you to scale reach and build your prospecting audiences. We see this pay off over time as potential donors build trust and connection.
Upweight media spend for the final 5-7 days of your campaign. In fact, many not-for-profits will see over 50% of their revenue come in during the final week and the majority of that 50% in the final three days before June 30. We recommend 50% of digital media spend in the last week of June. A key tip is to increase your search bid caps in the final few days to ensure you’re not missing the highest value donors.
Inflation has hit digital ad costs. What you put in last year, likely won’t be enough for this year, make sure you’re adjusting to the increased costs of digital advertising.
4. Giving is deeply personal, so use your creative messaging to connect emotionally.
Giving is deeply personal, and despite common assumptions that EOFY donors are pragmatically looking for the tax advantage — our research shows donors make their EOFY giving decisions based on values, need, and impact.
81% of donors say they prioritise causes that align with their personal values.
81% give to help people in need.
79% want to make a tangible impact.
A contrast to the 38% of Australians who are motivated by tax benefits. With all charities offering a tax benefit this isn’t a competitive advantage, it’s a hygiene factor that is important to communicate but not at the top of your messaging hierarchy.
We recommend honing these three different core motivators in your Tax Appeal to stand out in a crowded EOFY giving season, cut through, and most importantly speak directly to your donors’ motivations.
Finally, don’t forget to use tried, tested and proven tactics to prioritise your cause to donors in the final weeks of EOFY. Add urgency messaging (e.g. “Last Chance To Give”), offer matched giving, be plain & simple and clear, and remember to keep it consistent with your appeal.
What next?
EOFY 2025 presents a strong giving potential, with a plan for how to maximise these pockets of growth this year: Focus on mid-value and major donors, as well as the ‘floating donor’, while ensuring you have a digital strategy and cut-through creative to connect with people’s hearts at the most competitive time of the year.