Secrets to fundraising every charity should know

Look at the UK’s top fundraising charities. These include household names such as Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, and Great Ormond Street. Cancer Research UK raised £530 million for the year ending on 31 March 2025, a testament to their fundraising superpowers, while GOSH raised £108.92 million for the year ending 31 March 2024.

 

We want to take a deeper look at what makes those charities successful. Here we round off our top ten tips, tricks, and secrets so that your charity can maximise fundraising success.

 

 

Master the art of storytelling

 

Digging to the root of storytelling, at Charity Digital we focus on the basics. Tell your story by building emotions through characters, settings, plot, conflict, and resolution. These key elements should be part of the messaging to your audience and reflect who you work with, how and where.

 

Top tip: Learn how storytelling can do more than just fundraising.

 

 

Legacies, legacies, legacies

 

At Charity Digital, we can’t underscore how important legacies can be to your fundraising efforts. UK Fundraising reports that, in 2024, legacy giving was up 9%, with the average gift around £599,000. Charities cannot afford to miss out on this important segment, as these donors typically average around 30% of total income.

 

Top tip: Provide training to your staff to talk about gifts upon death and will services as part of your fundraising outreach. 

 

 

Go for hybrid events

 

To build geographical reach while staying local, plan for both in-person and virtual events. One of the best-known events is the London Marathon. The virtual segment gives athletes a chance to show their best in April, running the distance separately from the city route. Virtual participants then submit their times and distance away from the mass event held in London.

 

Top tip: For our best suggestions, check out our Five steps for putting on a hybrid event.

 

 

Auctions and raffles can generate excitement

 

Charity auctions and raffles produce audience excitement and generate donations. Age UK creates hype with their Christmas Charity Raffle. The first prize is a car or £25,000 – enough to attract all audiences. A testimonial from the 2024 winner is telling: “Pretty ecstatic, I didn’t believe it at first and once it sunk in I was completely over the moon... even if you don’t win, you can’t lose out as you’re supporting a good cause through playing.”

 

Top tip: We share how to create a virtual raffle.  

 

 

Make the donation process easy

 

On a practical level the donation process must be simple and quick. Equally, the platform needs to accept credit, debit, and mobile phone payments (i.e. ApplePay). Choosing the right payment platform is critical.

 

Top tip: We’ve reviewed the top payment platforms, including Zettle, Stripe, and WordPay. 

 

 

Reach out on social media

 

Fundraising on social media is a big topic, combining digital strategy, storytelling, and tech. One of the most direct routes to boosting donations is bringing on board a charity influencer. Many influencers fundraise directly through gaming, or they can share their favourite charities with audiences. Charity accounts should ensure campaigns are mentioned across all major outlets. Be sure to generate likes, shares and buzz by interacting with other accounts.

 

Top tip: Don’t forget to add the donate buttons in social media posts.

 

 

Focus on impact

 

People give to make things better. CharityLink underscores the point. They note that 96% of people feel they need to give back to society to tackle inequality. Share with audiences your charity’s purpose and impact. Use case studies, beneficiary testimonials, staff and audience commentary to boost the emotive fundraising rationale.

 

Top tip: For impact reporting, checking out some of the best reports out there.

 

 

Use personalisation

 

When fundraising, make it personal. At Charity Digital, we’ve argued that personalisation is a key ingredient for fundraising success. The crux of this process is audience segmentation. The thought process helps in guiding charity marketing teams on how to approach donors so that the outreach feels genuine, real and based on how donor like to be spoken to.

 

Top tip: Refine donor targeting by segmentation.  

 

 

Make the added touch count

 

Related to personalisation, for VIP donors, make them feel really appreciated. Review your fundraising history and tap into those who are regular volunteers, donors, and large fundraisers. You may want to send a representative to call them, send personal letters, or give them a personal tour of your impact.

 

Top tip: Remember, fundraising is year-round and relationship building counts.

 

 

Use a fundraising platform

 

A fundraising platform increases donations by sharing personal goals, impact, and the participant journey. With most platforms, fundraising participants can create a page, send it around for donations, and link their updates to social media accounts.

 

Top tip: Use the charity account to highlight star achievers.