Tom’s Takeaway - The World Happiness Report 2025 - YES, it is a thing, and YES, we told you so. (Part 1)

Yes, it IS a thing…and YES, you should care.

The World Happiness Report, published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford in partnership with Gallup, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and an independent editorial board, landed on my desk this week, and it did my heart some good. This year’s focus? The impact of caring and sharing on personal happiness. It’s a theme that connects directly to our work in the fundraising industry.

The chapter titles alone tell the story: Caring and Sharing, Sharing Meals with Others, Living with Others, Connecting with Others, Supporting Others, Trusting Others, and Giving to Others.

A few points jump out:

• Nordic countries continue to top the happiness rankings, with Finland holding first place.
• Those who give and those who receive report increased happiness, tied to three “C’s”: caring connections, choice, and clear positive impact. Sound familiar? They echo our industry’s version of the three C’s: Connection, Concern, and Capacity
• In the Gallup World Poll, people were asked if they engaged in any of three types of benevolent acts within the last month: if they gave money to charity, if they volunteered, and if they helped a stranger. The research shows that the well-being benefits from these acts vary depending on cultural and institutional differences

One standout experiment asked people whether they thought a lost wallet would be returned. When researchers dropped wallets, actual return rates (especially in Nordic countries) were much higher than expected. As the report notes: “This is highly encouraging.”

Why? Because our well-being is shaped by how we perceive others' kindness, not just their actions. The more we know about others’ benevolence, the happier we tend to be. This is directly applicable in fundraising; lead gifts, and visible generosity can greatly influence campaign momentum.

Benevolence benefits the giver, especially when the act is voluntary, motivated by genuine concern, and has a positive impact on the recipient.  

Classic research supports this: people are more likely to give when they know their help is effective. This is tied to the “identifiable victim effect,” including the well-known “Rokia” study. People connect more with a single, recognizable recipient than they do with abstract numbers. But here’s my long-held take: while faces are powerful, numbers that are transformed into meaningful outcomes and made relevant and understandable can be even more compelling.

Another study cited in the report asked students to give to one of two charities. One that communicated its impact, and one that didn’t. Unsurprisingly, the group that understood how their donation would help reported higher happiness. This reinforces something we emphasize at Convergent: showing donors how their support creates real outcomes not only raises more money, it boosts donor satisfaction and loyalty.

Giving to Others

Of all the chapters, this one hit closest to home for us fundraisers. The question of where to give is reframed through the lens of happiness: where will my gift generate the most good?

The report introduces a newer metric, WELLBYs (well-being years), to assess impact. Without diving into the math, here’s the big takeaway: some charities are significantly more cost-effective than others, and supporting them can multiply impact, at no additional cost to the donor.

More to come in Part 2. Stay tuned!