Where do voluntary organisations get their money from?

• In 2017/18, voluntary organisations generated a total of £53.5bn. This money was received in a variety of ways and from a range of sources.
• The public remains the largest source of income for the sector. In 2017/18, voluntary organisations received £25.4bn from the public; almost half (47%) of the sector’s total income. This includes voluntary income such as donations and legacies as well as income earned in a range of ways including through charity shops or membership fees.
• The second largest income source is money from government, which makes 29% of total income. This includes income gained through funding, trading and paying for contracted services.
• Other sources of income include money from the voluntary sector including trusts and foundations (10%), investments (8%), the private sector (5%), and the National Lottery (1%). These proportions remain unchanged from the last year.

Money from the public remains the largest source of income for voluntary organisations

• Between 2016/17 and 2017/18, money received from the public increased by 4% from £24.4bn to £25.4bn. This is largely due to a notable increase in legacy income which has gone up by 19% while income from donations has remained almost unchanged.
• Investment income fell by 6% compared to the previous year and stood at £4.1bn, the first decrease since 2009/10. However, it is still higher than the amount of investment income in 2015/16 (£3.7bn).
• Income received from government, National Lottery, the voluntary sector and the private sector has remained relatively steady since last year, with income received from government increasing by 2% and voluntary sector increasing by 3%.

Both income from the public and government increased, with income from the public growing most

• There are three ways in which voluntary organisations can generate money. Income can be:
  • voluntary which includes donations, grants or sponsorship
  • earned which includes income generated through contracts, membership fees or charity shops but also fundraising activities like bake sales or raffles
  • from investments.
• The sectors income is mostly made up of earned (47%) and voluntary income (45%). Income from investments made up the smallest proportion of total income.
• Earned income has increased slightly by 1% since 2016/17, while voluntary income has seen a notable increase of 5%. This is largely due to increases in legacies (19%) and government grants (8%), however, super-major organisations have seen by far the biggest growth in these areas.

The sector’s income is mostly made up of earned and voluntary income

• Micro and small organisations are more likely to get money from the public than other organisations. In 2017/18, over half (58%) of micro and small organisations’ total income came from the public, compared to 45–49% for organisations of other sizes.
• Larger organisations are more likely to receive money from government. Major organisations reported the highest proportion of government income, making up over a third (36%) of their total income. Similarly, government income also made up 29% of large organisations’ and 27% of super-major organisations’ total income.
• Super-major organisations get the highest proportion of income from the voluntary sector. Voluntary sector income made up 16% of super-major organisations total income compared to other organisations which received 7–9%.

Micro and small organisations receive a larger proportion of income from the public than other organisations

• Income from the public made up more than half of income for ten out of 18 subsectors and more than two-thirds of income for environmental organisations (71%) and parent-teacher associations (67%).
• Income from government made up almost half of total income for organisations working in employment and training organisations (49%), law and advocacy (46%) and social services (44%).
• International organisations, on the other hand, are more evenly split. They receive around a third of their total income from the public (32%), the government (30%) and the voluntary sector (29%).
• Grant-making foundations and research organisations received a higher proportion of their total income from investments (27% and 20% respectively) than other organisations (1—14%).

Income from the public makes up more than two-thirds of income for environmental organisations and parent-teacher associations

• Income sources can also be explored by looking at the majority funding source for individual organisations. We define majority funding source as more than 50% of all income for an organisation coming from one single source.
• Almost half (49%) of all voluntary organisations receive more than 50% of their income from the public. Government is the majority income source for only 8% of organisations.
• Donations are the majority income source for 17% of all organisations, the same proportion as providing services to the public. Trading with the public is the majority income source for 9% of organisations.
• About one fifth (18%) of organisations do not have a majority income source.

The majority of funding for more than half of all voluntary organisations comes from the public

• Download more Almanac data
• See this guest blog on charity finance trends

• Information and guidance on financial management
• Overview of funding sources
• How to make a start evaluating your funding mix
• Financial intelligence for trustees
• Charity finance for non-financial managers
• Introduction to sustainable funding (NCVO members only)
• Income diversification planner

Voluntary sector income can be broken down and analysed in different ways.

• There are two main types of voluntary sector income: earned income and voluntary income.
• These income types come from five main sources: individuals, government, the voluntary sector, the private sector and the National Lottery.
• In addition, there is investment income, generated from investments and cash balances.