The fundraising climate will become progressively tougher over the next two years, Ingrid Srinath, secretary general of civil society network Civicus, has warned.
Speaking at the closing session of the International Fundraising Congress in the Netherlands, Srinath said that the recession meant 2010 would be more difficult for fundraisers than this year, and 2011 would be harder still.
Charities supporting less fashionable causes would have a more difficult time, she said.
"Those with more marketable causes will get the lion's share of the funding in a difficult, competitive marketplace," she said. "Organisations working at the grass roots to tackle the causes of injustice are going to struggle."