Tax Season 2025: Breaking Records, Building Smarter Campaigns

Tax Time has always been the heartbeat of fundraising in Australia, but in 2025, it became something more, an opportunity for bold strategies, new learnings, and smarter ways to connect donors with causes.

At Bigfoot Fundraising, we’re proud to say this year was our biggest and most successful tax season to date. Together with our clients, we raised over $12.5 million, with more than $2.5 million through Meta campaigns alone. Every single partner exceeded their targets,  and many achieved record-breaking appeals.

But while the numbers are worth celebrating, the real story lies in the insights. Tax 2025 didn’t just succeed — it revealed where fundraising is heading.

The Wins Worth Highlighting

• Every client exceeded targets. From animal welfare to medical research, no one fell short.

• Meta took centre stage. Some incredible results, with one of our clients campaigns even achieving a 6.22 ROAS, proving the platform’s capacity to scale impact when creative and targeting align.

• We also saw outstanding results on Google Ads with CareFlight achieving a ROAS of over 10, proving the platform remains a powerful driver of donor conversion. Google not only delivered efficiency at scale, but also captured high-intent donors who were actively searching for ways to give.

• Donor behaviour shifted. Cold audiences (long considered risky) outperformed warm, challenging how we will continue to think about digital acquisition.

These results show that growth isn’t just possible — it’s repeatable when data, creative, and urgency combine.

Audience Shifts Fundraisers Can’t Ignore

This year surfaced trends that every fundraiser should be thinking about:

• Cold > Warm. Lookalike and interest-based targeting consistently outperformed warm pools. Acquisition is no longer  just about reaching new people,  it’s about finding the right new people.

• Women are driving philanthropy. Over 75% of all donations came from women. Campaigns must lean into the stories, channels, and creative that resonate with this audience.

• The 4% Lookalike sweet spot. Not too broad, not too narrow. For most campaigns, 4% lookalikes struck the balance between scale and relevance.

• Video keeps winning. From heartfelt rescues to urgent appeals, video creative outperformed static every time. Fundraisers who don’t plan video-first are already behind.

These aren’t just campaign quirks, we’ve identified that they’re signals of a shifting donor landscape.

Creative That Converts

One insight rose above all: Video + Case Studies = The Winning Formula.

Donors don’t want concepts, they want stories. Real people. Real animals. Real impact. Case studies brought to life in video consistently delivered the strongest results. Case studies and Video have long been two of the assets we request from clients the most due to their high performance value. This tax season has only cemented that as a fact (and in our eyes a campaign non-negotiable)

Donation Trends That Should Shape Strategy

• The Final Week Frenzy. Once again, the bulk of donations came in the last week. The lesson? Don’t just plan for a finish but build towards it. Smart budget phasing and creative showcasing urgency in this window make all the difference.

• Matched Giving as a mid-campaign booster. Whether for 48 hours or a full week, matched campaigns consistently drove conversion lifts. For fundraisers looking for momentum, this tool remains invaluable.
  

Challenges That Signal Opportunity

Even in success, the cracks show us where to improve:

• Content fatigue. Recycled case studies limit impact. Fresh stories build trust and authenticity.

• Late briefs = lost potential. Digital-first storytelling needs early collaboration. The earlier we’re in the room, the sharper the creative.

• Workflow bottlenecks. Campaigns shouldn’t be a sprint crammed into a few weeks. Sustained momentum and earlier production timelines will deliver stronger results.

These challenges aren’t setbacks, they’re reminders of what the sector needs to do differently.

Where Fundraising is Headed

Tax 2025 showed us that fundraising success is no longer about sticking to what worked last year. It’s about embracing change before donors demand it:

• Planning video-first creative, not as an afterthought.

• Treating cold audiences not as a risk, but as an investment in scale.

• Recognising that female donors are the driving force and tailoring certain strategies accordingly.

• Building campaign arcs that peak in urgency rather than spread thinly across months.
  

At Bigfoot, we see these lessons as more than insights; they're imperatives for our clients and the overall  sector.

Honestly, we’re thrilled by what our clients achieved this year, but even more excited about what it means for the future of fundraising. Tax 2025 proved that with the right creative, smart targeting, and strategic urgency, it’s possible to grow impact year after year.

Perhaps the clearest lesson of all is that the best results come from an integrated digital strategy — where Paid Meta, Google Ads, organic channels, and a strong EDM/SMS journey all work together. It’s this orchestration, rather than any single tactic, that consistently delivered the biggest wins in Tax 2025.

The challenge (and the opportunity) now lies in how fundraisers take these learnings forward. Because in a landscape that’s changing fast, what we tested in this year may be the baseline in 2026, but we’re determined and energised to keep up with the ever-changing trends.

Here’s to raising more, testing boldly, and fundraising smarter. That’s a wrap on Tax Season 2025!