Don't peak too early in your Xmas activity, charities told

Charities could miss out on vital pre-Christmas fundraising opportunities by overlooking the fact that UK festive giving peaks late, sharply, and is more mobile-based than many organisations plan for.

So says a new study by online donation platform goDonate, the next-generation online donation solution that integrates with charity websites and manages online donation experiences for leading UK and international charities.

The Online Donations Christmas Insights Report 2026 draws on anonymised donations data from charities using goDonate during December 2025, with selected comparisons to December 2024 and previous years.

The analysis reveals around 1 in 6 (15%) of one-off donations made during December 2025 happened in the final 72 hours before Christmas.

Meanwhile, the seven days from 15 to 21 December 2025 accounted for 27% of all December one-off donations. In addition, around 2% of one-off donations in December were made on Christmas Day itself.

The five busiest one-off giving days in December 2025 in order were:

December 24th
December 23rd
December 2nd (Giving Tuesday)
December 18th
December 22nd

Mobile giving spikes as donation volumes peak
Donating using mobile devices is a growing trend overall as charity supporters continue to embrace technology – and Christmas is no exception.

goDonate’s wider data shows that this is part of a broader change in donor behaviour. Across 2025, mobile represented 58% of one-off donation transactions and digital wallets accounted for 49% of one-off donations.

Christmas Eve makes that trend even more pronounced, with supporters’ increasing use of mobile devices requiring charities to optimise the mobile user experience and make donations as fast and frictionless as possible.

Two thirds (67%) of Christmas Eve one-off donations were made on mobile where device data was available, while an even higher share of one-off donations made on 25 December happened on mobile (77%). The figure across December was 57%.

In addition, over half (53%) of Christmas Eve one-off payments were made using PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay, compared with 47% throughout December overall.

Christmas donation data gifts charities vital opportunities
Along with the findings above, the report contains a wealth of analysis which fundraisers can build into their festive campaigns. Other key insights include:

Regular giving was one of the most notable changes in December 2025. Compared with December 2024, 34% more new regular gifts were started; the combined monthly value of new gifts increased by 40%
More donations are being completed at Christmas, and there is evidence of a small rise in average gift value. Data from December 2024 to December 2025 showed a 12% increase in one-off donation volume; a 2% rise in average one-off gift value, to £46.55; and a 14% boost to one-off donation income. (The average gift calculation excludes one-off donations of £1,000 or more so that a small number of unusually large gifts do not distort the overall picture.)

goDonate founder and CEO Vicky Reeves said: “For fundraising teams planning Christmas 2026, the message is simple: don’t wind down too early. The final days of the campaign must be treated as some of the most important; not the point at which activity is ending.

“It’s equally crucial to note how important mobile is becoming for online giving. goDonate knows from experience working on campaigns, and through our intensive testing programmes, that mobile user experience must be as quick and frictionless as possible for donors. The analysis proves that the closer we get to Christmas, the more vital mobile optimisation for campaigns becomes.

“For example, Christmas Eve donors may be travelling, checking email, browsing social media or spending time at home when something prompts them to give, rather than sitting at a desktop specifically planning a donation. The journey needs to work for that moment – as it does for all donation moments throughout December.”

Don’t peak too early in your Xmas activity, charities told

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