Good causes in the Netherlands may have more to spend because of official donations and inheritances but the income they raise themselves has scarcely gone up in 20 years, ING economists said on Thursday.

In 2013, Dutch households donated the same amount to charity as they did in 2001 and when inflation is taken into account, donations in 2013 were down one third on 1993, the economists say in their new report.

The situation is not helped by a lack of confidence in the sector. Some two-thirds of 50,000 people polled by ING said they don’t have much faith in good causes.

ING says charities need to be more innovative in the way they raise cash and to give their donors a ‘complete client experience’. They should also focus more on the social impact of their work rather than on keeping costs low.

‘The charity world is facing upheaval,’ said sector manager Ceel Eelemans. ‘If the sector wants to grow, they need to show more creativity. Innovation needs to be at the top of the list in order for charities to stay relevant.’