Fundraising Levy

The scheme of voluntary fundraising regulation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – delivered by the Fundraising Regulator – is mostly funded through a voluntary levy on charitable fundraising organisations which spend £100,000 or more each year on their fundraising activities. 

See our who we regulate page for more information about how our regulation applies in Scotland.

Funding our regulation

Regulation can only be effective if it is adequately funded. The levy enables us to protect the public and support the charitable fundraising sector by:

• setting and maintaining the UK fundraising standards 
• investigating complaints and concerns about charitable fundraising that has caused or may cause harm
• operating the Fundraising Preference Service; and
• responding proactively to emerging or unaddressed issues.

Sharing costs to protect the sector

The cost of the levy is shared among the charitable organisations that carry out the most fundraising activity, for the benefit of the entire fundraising sector. Collectively the UK’s largest organisations that are eligible to pay the levy spend close to an estimated £2 billion to carry out their fundraising activities. To put the cost of regulation into perspective, the levy represents 0.1% of overall fundraising expenditure.

Calculating fees

Some organisations may spend more or less on fundraising than the previous year. We regularly assess charity accounts to make sure that each organisation is contributing the right amount, based on its reported fundraising expenditure.