Fundraising Efficiency Report
How much does it cost each charity to raise $1?
Cost per dollar raised: The most efficient charities spend less than $0.10 to raise each $1. Best practices suggest spending no more than $0.25 per $1 raised. Charities spending more may have inefficient fundraising operations, high marketing costs, or simply less effective campaigns. Lower is better!
Charities Analyzed
4633
With fundraising data
Total Raised
$865.8M
Donations & fundraising
Fundraising Costs
$171.5M
Total spent fundraising
Avg Cost per $1
$0.20
Sector average
1390
<$0.10/$ raised
|
2299
>$0.50/$ raised
Efficiency Scale
$0.00$0.10 (Excellent)$0.25 (Good)$0.35 (Average)$0.50+ (Poor)
The scale shows cost per dollar raised. Charities on the left (green) are most efficient, spending less to raise each dollar. Best practice is to stay under $0.25.
Average by Sector
International Aid
$0.16
per $1 raised
Religion
$0.49
per $1 raised
Advocacy
$0.54
per $1 raised
Other
$0.70
per $1 raised
Animal Welfare
$0.98
per $1 raised
Sports & Recreation
$1.33
per $1 raised
Environment
$1.34
per $1 raised
Education
$1.69
per $1 raised
Social Services
$1.80
per $1 raised
Community Development
$4.16
per $1 raised
Health
$20.09
per $1 raised
Arts & Culture
$34.82
per $1 raised
ICNPO Category Benchmarks
International Classification of Non-Profit Organisations — standardized benchmarks for cross-sector comparison
International
25 charities
$0.17
GoodReligion
552 charities
$0.49
PoorEnvironment
172 charities
$1.12
Very PoorEducation and Research
1450 charities
$1.69
Very PoorSocial Services
520 charities
$1.80
Very PoorPhilanthropic Intermediaries and Voluntarism Promotion
18 charities
$3.11
Very PoorDevelopment and Housing
535 charities
$4.27
Very PoorHealth
285 charities
$20.09
Very PoorCulture and Recreation
1039 charities
$23.31
Very PoorMost Efficient Fundraisers
| Charity | Amount Raised | Fundraising Cost | Cost per $1 | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nelson Tasman Region Hospice Investment Trust HealthFY 2019 | $6.2M 95% of revenue | $14 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Mairehau Primary Home and School Association EducationFY 2025 | $21K 99% of revenue | $2 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Ashburton Aviation Museum Society Trust Arts & CultureFY 2025 | $465K 68% of revenue | $45 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Ashburton Aviation Museum Society Trust Arts & CultureFY 2026 | $465K 68% of revenue | $45 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Kairos Foundation NZ Inc EducationFY 2024 | $38K 55% of revenue | $5 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Anglican Diocese of Christchurch - Parish of Hornby ReligionFY 2024 | $108K 50% of revenue | $15 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Kitty Kingdom Animal WelfareFY 2026 | $62K 55% of revenue | $10 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Kitty Kingdom Animal WelfareFY 2025 | $62K 55% of revenue | $10 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Goodlife Projects Charitable Trust Board Social ServicesFY 2026 | $87K 58% of revenue | $20 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Waikato Regional Property Trust Arts & CultureFY 2023 | $29.2M 97% of revenue | $7K | $0.00 | Excellent |
Garden Marlborough 2004 Incorporated EnvironmentFY 2024 | $94K 17% of revenue | $32 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Hamilton New Life Community Trust ReligionFY 2025 | $459K 95% of revenue | $157 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Christian Family Church Charitable Trust ReligionFY 2026 | $92K 87% of revenue | $33 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Live Better (Cultural Centre Trust) Community DevelopmentFY 2025 | $165K 98% of revenue | $61 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Heritage Food Crops Research Trust HealthFY 2024 | $53K 99% of revenue | $22 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Swaminarayan Mandir Vasna Sanstha (SMVS) Trust ReligionFY 2025 | $43K 100% of revenue | $18 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Dominican Sisters Of Wanganui ReligionFY 2024 | $256K 48% of revenue | $117 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Wairoa Rock Church Trust ReligionFY 2024 | $205K 95% of revenue | $98 | $0.00 | Excellent |
TE ORA HOU TE TAIRAWHITI TRUST Community DevelopmentFY 2024 | $278K 99% of revenue | $135 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Life Education Trust Thames/ Coromandel/ Hauraki/ Waihi EducationFY 2024 | $107K 75% of revenue | $53 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Life Education Trust Manawatu EducationFY 2024 | $94K 68% of revenue | $52 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Anglican Diocese of Christchurch - Parish of Shirley ReligionFY 2024 | $274K 29% of revenue | $158 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Wekaweka Valley Community Trust Community DevelopmentFY 2024 | $54K 87% of revenue | $40 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Anglican Diocese of Christchurch Parish of St Pauls Papanui ReligionFY 2024 | $95K 56% of revenue | $73 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Older Persons Community Centre Trust Social ServicesFY 2025 | $272K 46% of revenue | $243 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Edendale Home And School Association EducationFY 2024 | $55K 96% of revenue | $51 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Edendale Home And School Association EducationFY 2025 | $55K 96% of revenue | $51 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Dress for Success Rotorua Charitable Trust Social ServicesFY 2024 | $57K 66% of revenue | $54 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Gisborne International Music Competition Charitable Trust Arts & CultureFY 2024 | $39K 100% of revenue | $38 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Grovetown School Parent Support Group Incorporated EducationFY 2025 | $9K 100% of revenue | $9 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Grovetown School Parent Support Group Incorporated EducationFY 2026 | $9K 100% of revenue | $9 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union Incorporated Sports & RecreationFY 2024 | $441K 39% of revenue | $461 | $0.00 | Excellent |
$110K 36% of revenue | $117 | $0.00 | Excellent | |
EquiPotential NZ Incorporated Social ServicesFY 2024 | $207K 66% of revenue | $225 | $0.00 | Excellent |
ME/CFS Canterbury / West Coast Charitable Trust HealthFY 2024 | $183K 96% of revenue | $207 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Stop Demand Foundation EducationFY 2025 | $9K 100% of revenue | $10 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Cool Bananas Youthwork Trust EducationFY 2024 | $191K 99% of revenue | $220 | $0.00 | Excellent |
One Tree Hill Kindergarten Incorporated EducationFY 2024 | $136K 17% of revenue | $160 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Good News Baptist Church ReligionFY 2025 | $92K 91% of revenue | $129 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Laingholm Volunteer Fire Brigade Social ServicesFY 2025 | $16K 57% of revenue | $22 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Laingholm Volunteer Fire Brigade Social ServicesFY 2026 | $16K 57% of revenue | $22 | $0.00 | Excellent |
$14K 15% of revenue | $20 | $0.00 | Excellent | |
Inspired Faith Church - Oamaru ReligionFY 2024 | $134K 92% of revenue | $200 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Anglican Diocese of Christchurch Parish of Mt Herbert ReligionFY 2024 | $57K 34% of revenue | $90 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Te Āwhina Community Hub Incorporated Social ServicesFY 2024 | $111K 97% of revenue | $174 | $0.00 | Excellent |
United Korean Presbyterian Church Incorporated ReligionFY 2025 | $12K 100% of revenue | $20 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Paws of Hope Charitable Trust Animal WelfareFY 2025 | $53K 86% of revenue | $88 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Paekakariki Surf Life Guards Incorporated Sports & RecreationFY 2025 | $199K 25% of revenue | $337 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Paekakariki Surf Life Guards Incorporated Sports & RecreationFY 2026 | $199K 25% of revenue | $337 | $0.00 | Excellent |
South Canterbury Museum Development Trust Arts & CultureFY 2025 | $56K 64% of revenue | $96 | $0.00 | Excellent |
Understanding Fundraising Efficiency
Efficiency Bands
- <$0.10: Lowest cost-to-raise band
- $0.10-$0.20: Within commonly-cited benchmarks
- $0.20-$0.35: Mid-range cost-to-raise
- $0.35-$0.50: Above sector-typical cost-to-raise
- >$0.50: Highest cost-to-raise band — context matters (e.g. early-stage, niche cause)
Factors Affecting Efficiency
- Type of fundraising (events vs appeals vs regular giving)
- Donor acquisition vs retention costs
- Scale of operations
- Marketing and campaign costs
- Investment in donor relationships
Data sourced from Charities Services register and annual returns. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. If you believe any data on this page is incorrect, please contact us at hello@charitydata.co.nz.
For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.