Purpose over profits. That’s the key difference defining charities and businesses. If you work or volunteer for a charity, much of your day-to-day is in the ‘do’. And everything you do has to align back to your purpose: protecting wildlife, eradicating homelessness, ending hunger and the likes.
But being hyper focused in action is why a lot of charities aren’t communicating their impact. Not a big deal, right? Action is brilliant but without repeat donations and volunteers, just like any business, charities become unsustainable.
Here’s everything you need to know about effective non-profit storytelling and communicating charity success.
What’s the story with charity marketing?
According to Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), fewer people than ever are giving to charity in the UK.* In 2024, 55% of all adults made a donation to charity, including those who sponsored someone they knew. Just 10% of people got involved with charity work, down 7% from 2016 and down 3% from the previous year alone.
Just like in any organisation, when you see numbers like this, you can’t sit on the sidelines and hope that things change. You have to go after your audience, which as a charity is easier said than done. For digital engagement, many charities say they lack the capacity to invest time (66%) and nearly half feel that they don’t have the right skillset among their staff and volunteers (47%).**
What’s at stake?
It’s clear that without intervention, a lot of fundraising potential is on the line. In a report entitled ‘Why We Give’ delivered by CAF, 81% of people said that they would feel compelled to increase their donations if there was more hard evidence around the impact of a charity’s work.***
People want to see where their money is going and the direct impact it’s having. It’s the reason why initiatives like Children In Need are so successful. Despite primetime TV slots and becoming a national campaign, its success was in connecting people at home to the direct impact that their money would have. When you can see where it’s going, it’s harder to turn a blind eye.
It’s a technique that shows up in Nudge Theory, the behavioural science and consumer thinking framework made popular by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. Showing people how their donation will be used, such as ‘£25 buys a clean water tap for a village’, reframes the way they view their money: from what they’re giving up to what they are providing. It nudges them to make a smart choice.
How does charity storytelling help?
Due to rising costs of living and the after-effects of the pandemic, it can be tempting to attribute lower charity donations to less cash flow. However, CAF’s 2025 report found that just 44% of people surveyed said they couldn’t afford to donate. For others, it was a lack of interest in charity. But interestingly, 19% said that they didn’t trust charities to use their money wisely.
While price transparency can help – showing where every penny in each pound goes – so too can developing a presence with those who have donated in the past and creating connections, directly or indirectly, to those who might in the future.
Sharing impact and success stories not only encourages people to donate in the first place but it keeps them coming back too. That’s because effective charity storytelling creates an emotional connection between donor and recipient, creating trust in the charity.
In 2024, the reason most people made a charitable donation was because of someone they knew, be it colleague, friend or family member (17%). In most cases, this donation will not have been done through a sense of obligation to a charity but more because the donor feels a personal connection either to the cause or to the story and experience of the person they are sponsoring. Connection is foundational.
What should charities communicate?
As a charity, it’s important to bring people on a journey with you. Clear, consistent communication which tells a story will help to enliven your data and allow donors to see where their money is going and the tangible impact that it’s having. Stories from beneficiaries are as important as supporter stories.
An interesting point for consideration is how charities stand out. We’re all familiar with emotional stories that tug on our heartstrings which is why it’s important to combine that with changing perceptions and making the audience have their own ‘a-ha’ moment. Not only does this keep communication channels fresh but it also helps to combat emotional fatigue.
Is the annual report enough?
As a registered charity within the UK, producing an annual report is a charity obligation. This public document summarises income, spending, employees, volunteers and governance among other details. But is this enough to communicate impact? Well, think about it. What’s more interesting: reading through a formal document or flicking through an illustrated carousel on social media?
Chunking up information is much easier for an audience to digest, it feels like less of a chore for them and can be a creative way to communicate impact effectively.
Impact reporting is not a must for charities like an annual report but it’s worth considering the payoff for putting the work in.
Using social media for charity marketing
When it comes to charity marketing, social media is a great place to start. Not only are channels like Instagram and Facebook in almost everyone’s pocket but in 2024, £746m was donated via social media.
However, charities often have a difficult time maintaining their social media presence and getting the reach.
According to Charity Digital Skills’ 2024 report, 54% of charities want to build their social media engagement but 17% felt they weren’t good at it or didn’t see the value in using it.** In the same report, 48% said that they haven’t changed the way that they’re using social media.
This is where specialists come in. At astraia, we work for better business, which means we often support charities through their digital transformations and development on social media. Having the right tools and knowing how to use them takes time. We understand. Which is why we can help you get your social media off the ground to support your impact strategy and future income generation.
Let’s chat.
*https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/uk-giving-reports/uk_giving_report_2025.pdf
**https://charitydigitalskills.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Charity-Digital-Skills-Report-2024.pdf
***https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/research-archive/giving-in-the-uk/why-we-give.pdf
Sources:
https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/research-archive/giving-in-the-uk/why-we-give.pdf
https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/uk-giving-reports/uk_giving_report_2025.pdf
https://charitydigitalskills.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Charity-Digital-Skills-Report-2024.pdf
