Help Build Ireland’s Leading Fundraising Benchmark Study

Led by Charities Institute Ireland, this study brings together data from Ireland’s leading charities to build the most meaningful picture yet of fundraising performance, trends and investment across the sector. It remains the only study of its kind in Ireland, and its strength depends on organisations like yours taking part—so we’re encouraging you to get involved if you haven’t already.

Last year’s inaugural benchmarking study saw fantastic engagement and provided a strong starting point—highlighting key income and expenditure trends, as well as the growing momentum around building stronger data capability within Irish charities.

This year, we’re building on that momentum together.

Charities Institute Ireland has commissioned AAW Group and The HX Consultancy to deliver and analyse this year’s study. The 2026 survey goes a level deeper, aiming to generate more practical insights for fundraising leaders. Over time, this collaboration also opens up the potential to benchmark Ireland against data and trends in the UK and internationally.

Why your participation matters

By contributing your organisation’s data, you’ll help to:

• Understand how fundraising is performing across Ireland
• Benchmark key metrics against peer organisations
• Identify trends and opportunities shaping the fundraising landscape
• Strengthen the evidence base that supports investment in fundraising

What to expect

To produce deeper insights, this year’s survey will ask for a little more detail, which may involve input from colleagues across fundraising, finance or leadership teams.

To help, we’ll share a Questionnaire Preparation Kit so you can gather what’s needed in advance.

A few helpful points:

• Only one survey per organisation is required
• You can skip sections that aren’t relevant
• All responses will be secure and reported only in aggregated form

Stronger Data - Stronger Insights

The survey was sent out on 8th April, and we’d encourage you to set aside time and rally colleagues to take part before the closing date of 31st May. This initiative reflects the collegiate spirit of the Irish fundraising community—working together to build credible, useful insights that strengthen the sector for everyone.

If you haven’t already done so, please take part before 31st May. The stronger the participation, the stronger the benchmarks — and the greater the impact we can achieve together.