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

4017

With fundraising data

Total Raised

$454.3M

Donations & fundraising

Fundraising Costs

$99.3M

Total spent fundraising

Avg Cost per $1

$0.22

Sector average

1306

<$0.10/$ raised

1911

>$0.50/$ 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

Environment

$0.34

per $1 raised

Social Services

$0.61

per $1 raised

Religion

$0.61

per $1 raised

Community Development

$0.67

per $1 raised

International Aid

$0.67

per $1 raised

Education

$1.10

per $1 raised

Advocacy

$1.61

per $1 raised

Other

$3.44

per $1 raised

Sports & Recreation

$3.45

per $1 raised

Animal Welfare

$5.03

per $1 raised

Health

$6.46

per $1 raised

Arts & Culture

$18.22

per $1 raised

ICNPO Category Benchmarks

International Classification of Non-Profit Organisations — standardized benchmarks for cross-sector comparison

Environment

99 charities

$0.33

Average

Development and Housing

28 charities

$0.39

Poor

Philanthropic Intermediaries and Voluntarism Promotion

14 charities

$0.60

Very Poor

Social Services

259 charities

$0.61

Very Poor

Religion

530 charities

$0.61

Very Poor

International

17 charities

$0.72

Very Poor

Education and Research

1555 charities

$1.11

Very Poor

Law, Advocacy and Politics

8 charities

$1.61

Very Poor

Health

600 charities

$6.48

Very Poor

Culture and Recreation

735 charities

$18.71

Very Poor

Most Efficient Fundraisers

Nelson Tasman Region Hospice Investment Trust

Epilepsy Foundation Of New Zealand Incorporated

Diabetes Youth (Wellington) Incorporated

Charity	Amount Raised	Fundraising Cost	Cost per $1	Rating
Nelson Tasman Region Hospice Investment Trust Health	$6.2M 95% of revenue	$14	$0.00	Excellent
Epilepsy Foundation Of New Zealand Incorporated Health	$57K 25% of revenue	$1	$0.00	Excellent
Diabetes Youth (Wellington) Incorporated Health	$94K 92% of revenue	$7	$0.00	Excellent
Kitty Kingdom Health	$91K 100% of revenue	$10	$0.00	Excellent
Kairos Foundation NZ Inc Education	$38K 55% of revenue	$5	$0.00	Excellent
Anglican Diocese of Christchurch - Parish of Hornby Religion	$108K 50% of revenue	$15	$0.00	Excellent
Nyingje Trust International Aid	$6K 100% of revenue	$1	$0.00	Excellent
Avonhead Community Trust Religion	$21K 44% of revenue	$5	$0.00	Excellent
Waikato Regional Property Trust Community Development	$29.2M 97% of revenue	$7K	$0.00	Excellent
The Hokitika Branch Of The Royal New Zealand Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals Incorporated Environment	$25K 14% of revenue	$8	$0.00	Excellent
Garden Marlborough 2004 Incorporated Education	$94K 17% of revenue	$32	$0.00	Excellent
Hamilton New Life Community Trust Religion	$459K 95% of revenue	$157	$0.00	Excellent
Live Better (Cultural Centre Trust) Arts & Culture	$165K 98% of revenue	$61	$0.00	Excellent
Waimauku Playcentre Education	$25K 42% of revenue	$10	$0.00	Excellent
Heritage Food Crops Research Trust Health	$53K 99% of revenue	$22	$0.00	Excellent
Dominican Sisters Of Wanganui Religion	$256K 48% of revenue	$117	$0.00	Excellent
Hope Unlimited Trust Health	$167K 78% of revenue	$78	$0.00	Excellent
Wairoa Rock Church Trust Religion	$205K 95% of revenue	$98	$0.00	Excellent
TE ORA HOU TE TAIRAWHITI TRUST Education	$278K 99% of revenue	$135	$0.00	Excellent
Life Education Trust Thames/ Coromandel/ Hauraki/ Waihi Health	$107K 75% of revenue	$53	$0.00	Excellent
Life Education Trust Manawatu Education	$94K 68% of revenue	$52	$0.00	Excellent
S.W.A.P Single Women As Parents Incorporated Arts & Culture	$161K 98% of revenue	$91	$0.00	Excellent
Anglican Diocese of Christchurch - Parish of Shirley Religion	$274K 29% of revenue	$158	$0.00	Excellent
Real Life Youth Trust Social Services	$110K 74% of revenue	$71	$0.00	Excellent
Takapuna Play Centre Incorporated Education	$78K 91% of revenue	$54	$0.00	Excellent
Waitara Community Fitness/Cycle Track Social Services	$63K 100% of revenue	$44	$0.00	Excellent
Wekaweka Valley Community Trust Environment	$54K 87% of revenue	$40	$0.00	Excellent
North Otago Riding for the Disabled Association Incorporated Health	$43K 94% of revenue	$32	$0.00	Excellent
Auckland Lodge of the Rosicrucian Order AMORC Incorporated Education	$114K 93% of revenue	$87	$0.00	Excellent
Anglican Diocese of Christchurch Parish of St Pauls Papanui Religion	$95K 56% of revenue	$73	$0.00	Excellent
The Whakatane Branch Of The Royal New Zealand Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals Incorporated Environment	$77K 48% of revenue	$60	$0.00	Excellent
Nelson District Parents Centre Incorporated Education	$6K 19% of revenue	$5	$0.00	Excellent
Older Persons Community Centre Trust Health	$272K 46% of revenue	$243	$0.00	Excellent
Ngaruawahia Community Care and Crisis Support Trust Health	$179K 98% of revenue	$165	$0.00	Excellent
Dress for Success Rotorua Charitable Trust Social Services	$57K 66% of revenue	$54	$0.00	Excellent
Gisborne International Music Competition Charitable Trust Health	$39K 100% of revenue	$38	$0.00	Excellent
Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union Incorporated Health	$441K 39% of revenue	$461	$0.00	Excellent
Anglican Diocese of Christchurch - Anglican Parish of Ashburton Religion	$110K 36% of revenue	$117	$0.00	Excellent
EquiPotential NZ Incorporated Health	$207K 66% of revenue	$225	$0.00	Excellent
ME/CFS Canterbury / West Coast Charitable Trust Health	$183K 96% of revenue	$207	$0.00	Excellent
Lifegiver Global Religion	$9K 100% of revenue	$10	$0.00	Excellent
Cool Bananas Youthwork Trust Religion	$191K 99% of revenue	$220	$0.00	Excellent
Dementia Canterbury Incorporated Health	$417K 45% of revenue	$487	$0.00	Excellent
One Tree Hill Kindergarten Incorporated Education	$136K 17% of revenue	$160	$0.00	Excellent
Age Concern Hamilton Incorporated Social Services	$148K 21% of revenue	$180	$0.00	Excellent
Stop Demand Foundation Social Services	$8K 100% of revenue	$10	$0.00	Excellent
Springvale Playcentre Education	$65K 91% of revenue	$80	$0.00	Excellent
Good News Baptist Church Religion	$92K 91% of revenue	$129	$0.00	Excellent
Inspired Faith Church - Oamaru Religion	$134K 92% of revenue	$200	$0.00	Excellent
The Phil Lamason Heritage Centre Trust Incorporated Health	$24K 92% of revenue	$37	$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.