Business plan 2025/26

This is the fourth business plan that falls within the scope of our Strategic plan 2022 – 2027. The strategy sets out our view of how we will deliver the effective regulation of charitable fundraising over the next five years. 

Our regulation is risk, evidence and outcomes based. There are cross-cutting themes running through our objectives, which together will guide us to regulate charitable fundraising effectively. These are:

• Innovative: We will keep abreast of digital and wider social developments and how these may shape fundraising into the future. Our regulation will evolve accordingly.
• Proactive: We will continue to develop our proactive approach, strengthening the work we do to ensure compliance with the code, in addition to complaints handling. We will prioritise proactive regulation where we identify issues that may cause harm to the public or damage to the reputation of charitable fundraising even if those issues have not attracted complaints.
• Intelligent: We will use our data more intelligently to support the development of the code and our compliance work. We will collect and share fundraising data from others to inform our regulatory priorities and to share knowledge and learning.
• Collaborative: We will bring in views from across the fundraising sector and the wider public so that we remain a thought leader in fundraising. We will create new information sharing opportunities to ensure that fundraisers and the public have a greater voice in developing our policies. As part of this, we will strengthen relationships with other regulators and government.

All our work is delivered in line with the following strategic objectives:

1. To deliver intelligent fundraising regulation that protects the public.
2. To inform members of the public about principled fundraising.
3. To support fundraising organisations to thrive.
4. To be a highly effective organisation.

This year’s budget allows us to deliver our core business as usual activity. This includes:

• Continuing to offer advice on high standards of fundraising through our Code Advice Service, available either online or over the phone.
• Managing complaints casework at about 100 complaints per month (1,200 per year). Including investigating matters of regulatory concern arising from complaints or other intelligence.
• Maintaining Fundraising Levy (the levy) and registration activity at present levels, with the additional capacity to process up to 70 new applications per month for registration and increasing numbers of annual renewals.
• Operating the Fundraising Preference Service (FPS) at present or at increased levels of activity.

The priorities for this year are as follows:

To deliver intelligent fundraising regulation that protects the public. 

We will continue to develop our proactive regulation function, delivering regulatory projects generated through our intelligence gathering and analysis. We remain committed to maintaining and growing our collaborative relationships with existing and new regulatory partners to develop and share intelligence and work together on projects.

We will continue to improve our casework function, reviewing our processes and developing new ways of reporting on our casework and investigations.

Key deliverables

• Publish a new Code of Fundraising Practice (the Code) and guidance that protects donors and members of the public against harm within a modern fundraising context.  
• Improve the way we report on complaints data from charities so that organisations can share learning and help improve fundraising practice.
• Embed a new casework process, with updated key performance indicators and make sure a comprehensive communications plan is in place to clearly explain the changes to the public and charities.
• Review the self-reporting pathway, the first review since its introduction in 2022 (this deliverable was brought forward from the last year’s business plan).
• Review and publish a report on the learning from our complaints and investigations, including any learning from compliance enquiries.
• Build on our first AI pilots to see how predictive and generative AI can support our intelligence gathering, regulatory processes and communications.
• Continue to improve collective regulation through close working with other statutory and non-statutory regulators where remits intersect.
• Continue to develop the scope of our intelligence gathering and analysis to find trends for further scrutiny and potential proactive projects.
• Develop our role as a leader and convener for bringing together regulators, enforcement authorities, private companies, and sector bodies to further a collaborative and collective approach to regulation.
• Continue to find new sectors that we can work with to promote fundraising in line with the code, for example auditors and accountancy professionals.

To inform members of the public about principled fundraising

It is our role to make sure that whatever fundraising is taking place, standards remain high, and the public continues to be protected. 

We will continue to run an open and accessible complaints service that helps complainants and charitable institutions in getting complaints resolved.  We will also continue to provide a way for the public to manage their communications with charities through the FPS.

Key deliverables

• Continue to deliver public facing marketing campaigns to help the public and donors understand fundraising and make informed decisions about which causes to support.
• Experiment with new digital marketing channels and campaigns to encourage safer giving from donors and potential donors.
• Increase use of our digital badge to give greater confidence to the public and help deter fraudulent fundraising.
• Continue to work with other regulators and relevant bodies to provide joint public messages to further emphasise and increase the reach of our safer giving campaigns.
• Review and make changes to our public Directory of registered organisations to make sure it supports the public when deciding where to donate.

To support fundraising organisations to thrive 

In November, our new code will come into force. We will support organisations in the run-up to the implementation with clear guidance and advice. 

We will also publish a suite of other support resources and guidance. We will continue to work with our partners and explore new channels to make sure our messages are heard.

Key deliverables

• Publish a digital version of the updated code that is easier to search and has better links to related sector and regulatory guidance.
• Publish a suite of guidance and support resources aimed at helping fundraising organisations understand and apply the new code.
• Create a small charities online resource pack available on registration.
• Work with research organisation to implement a plan to improve the way we report on complaints data from charities.
• Publish timely summaries of completed investigations highlighting areas of code breach and recommendations for improvement.
• Strengthen engagement with the fundraising sector in Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Publish the findings from our casework, the information that would previously have been found in part one of our Annual Complaints Report.

To be a highly effective organisation

Further changes to the levy and registration fees, agreed after the engagement exercise that took place in 2023/24, will be introduced from September 2025. These changes make sure that we can deliver the required regulation now and in the future. We will continue to carefully monitor our expenditure to make sure we are offering value for money and make efficiencies where possible. We are keenly aware of how we are funded and the pressures on everyone; and we take our budgeting responsibilities seriously. 

Key deliverables

• Implement the second phase of levy increases agreed in 2023/24.
• Continue to develop the way that we use Salesforce to better support our casework and registration and levy teams and to increase efficiency.
• Continue to develop our work on equality, diversity and inclusion to make sure that it remains at the forefront of our policies and decisions.
• Develop and implement an IT strategy, including an organisation wide review of our data access and retention policies and procedures.
• Continue to assess how we can use AI tools to improve efficiencies across the business.

Charity and non-charity registration scheme

The Fundraising Regulator’s scheme of voluntary fundraising regulation in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland is mainly funded by the Fundraising Levy (the levy). The levy amounts to about 83% of the regulator’s income and is paid by the charities that conduct the most fundraising activity. Around 2,200 charities are currently within the scope of the levy, which is based on a sliding scale of payments for all charities spending £100,000 or more on fundraising per year.

The rest of our income comes primarily from a registration scheme for smaller fundraising charities and non-charities (such as commercial businesses, Community Interest Companies (CICs) and public interest bodies) that engage in charitable fundraising. Smaller charities spending less than £100,000 a year on fundraising pay £60 a year to register with us. Non-charities pay registration fees on a sliding scale according to their fundraising turnover.

From 1 September 2025 the fees charged for levy and registration for charities will increase. Details of the new scale of fees are on our website (link).

All organisations that commit publicly to meeting the Code of Fundraising Practice, and pay the relevant registration fee (currently just under 7,000 bodies), can display the Fundraising Badge on their fundraising materials, and are encouraged to do so. 

Budget for 2025/26

Our budget for 2025-26 is £3.98 million which represents an increase on last year’s forecast expenditure of £3.71 million. The budget change comes from cost of living and inflationary changes to last year's core budget.

We anticipate that our total income will be around £4.03 million with £3.39 million forecast to come from the levy and the remainder from small charity and non-charity registrations, 

To ease the burden of the levy increases, these were spread over two years. 

Staffing

Our commitment to offering value for money means we look to regulate in a way that is as efficient and effective as possible. This includes making sure our workforce remains skilled and supported to do their work. 

Our staffing costs constitute a substantial part of our expenditure in 2025/26 at about 64%. Staff work in five teams – proactive regulation and projects; casework; communications and corporate services; finance and procurement; and policy. 

Budget summary

Budget summary by cost centre

Budget summary by Strategic Objective