At the same time, income from legacies is growing strongly: in 2024, charities received at least €512 million from bequests. This is shown by the 15th edition of Geven in Nederland (Giving in the Netherlands), the biennial study by the Centre for Philanthropic Studies at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The report was presented this afternoon during the Day of Philanthropy 2026. Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands was presented with the first copy of this 15th anniversary edition.
Dutch households
Dutch households donated a total of €2.4 billion to charitable causes in 2024. This is slightly more than in 2022, when the figure was €2.3 billion. Adjusted for inflation, however, the value of these donations has declined. The share of households that donate also fell. In 2024, 76% of households donated money or goods to charitable causes. In 2022, this percentage was still 7 percentage points higher. At the same time, households that do donate are giving more on average: the average donation among giving households rose to €415, €58 more than in 2022.
The donors among households that give are more often older, more highly educated, religious, more likely to have a partner and children, a higher income and their own home. The study therefore shows that giving to charitable causes is not evenly distributed across society. A smaller and relatively more affluent section of the Netherlands is contributing an increasingly large share of donations.
Willingness to give after being asked has declined sharply in recent years. In 2006, 81% of households gave after receiving a request; in 2025, this figure had fallen to 34%. The share of households that received a request also decreased: from 60% in 2006 to 41% in 2025.
Gen Z and volunteering
The study also shows that young people from Generation Z, aged between 17 and 27, donated money to charitable causes less often in 2024 than their peers did twenty years ago. However, they are more likely to volunteer. Their involvement is therefore partly shifting from giving money to giving time.
Voluntary engagement remains widespread in the Netherlands. In total, 77% of Dutch people contribute voluntarily in at least one way. This includes both volunteering through organisations, such as associations or foundations, and informal help, for example to neighbours, family members or acquaintances. The group of Dutch people who more often volunteer their time frequently has the same demographic characteristics as the group that more often gives money.
Businesses
Businesses are also less likely to contribute to charitable causes than in the past. In 2024, 44% of businesses contributed through sponsorship or donations. This is slightly more than in 2022, when the figure was 39%, but still clearly below the level seen before 2020, when 61% of businesses gave to charitable causes.
Even so, businesses contributed an estimated total of €1.7 billion in 2024. This shows that the total contribution relies mainly on a smaller group of businesses that give large amounts. Family businesses occupy a unique position in this respect: their donations have been increasing since 2014, while donations from other businesses have been declining since 2008.
Legacies
An important positive development for charities is the growth in income from legacies. In 2024, charitable organisations received at least €512 million from bequests. This income is growing at an accelerating pace. Between 2001 and 2024, income from legacies increased by an average of 4% per year. Between 2018 and 2024, the average annual increase was 8%, and between 2022 and 2024 it reached 13%.
The growth in legacies suggests that the long-predicted ‘Golden Age of philanthropy’ is drawing closer. At the same time, this form of giving is also highly dependent on a relatively small group of people, mainly from the oldest generation, who have also contributed the most during their lifetime.
Foundations and lotteries
Endowed foundations contributed at least €259 million to charitable causes from investment returns in 2024. Their total expenditure amounted to at least €733 million. Among endowed foundations, too, a small group of large foundations is responsible for the majority of contributions.
Finally, the study shows that charity lotteries together paid a record amount of €635 million to charitable organisations in 2024. People in the Netherlands who participate in charity lotteries are also more likely to donate money directly to charitable causes.
The full Geven in Nederland 2026 report can be found here.
About Geven in Nederland
Geven in Nederland (Giving in the Netherlands) is a biennial research project by the Centre for Philanthropic Studies at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Since 1995, the study has mapped generosity and social engagement among Dutch households, legacies, foundations, businesses and lotteries.