Guidance

Charity fundraising: a guide to trustee duties

Updated 3 February 2026

Applies to England and Wales

© Crown copyright 2026

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Many charities rely on public donations to fund their work.

Getting this right doesn’t just mean benefitting from the public’s financial support. How your charity fundraises can help it raise its profile, explain its impact, and connect to people who support your charity’s cause and want to make a difference.

There are also laws that apply to fundraising.  As trustees, you must:

  • comply with the law
  • only raise funds for your charity’s purpose, and not for any other purpose
  • only use the funds you raise for the purposes for which they were raised
  • manage your charity’s resources responsibly
  • ensure your charity is open and accountable
  • act with reasonable care and skill and in your charity’s best interests

You should also register with the Fundraising Regulator and follow the Code of Fundraising Practice. The code sets out standards that apply to charities and fundraisers. 

Complying with the law and following the code will:

  • encourage the public to support your charity
  • protect your charity and its reputation
  • help the public trust your charity and charities generally

Comply with the law and follow the fundraising code

There are laws that apply to fundraising, and some are detailed and complex. They cover areas like working with commercial organisations and licensing.

You must comply with the law.

Read this guide. It covers areas like:

  • fundraising and your trustee duties. For example, fundraising risks
  • planning your fundraising. For example, not unintentionally creating a ‘restricted’ fund
  • how much you can spend on fundraising

It also signposts to the Code of Fundraising Practice, which is based on the law and good practice. The code sets out standards that charities and fundraisers should follow, and covers areas like:

  • different types of fundraising, such as using online platforms, cash collections and competitions

  • fundraisers’ conduct, including when working with groups like children
  • your responsibilities towards your charity’s volunteers who fundraise

Some charities must state in their trustees’ annual report whether they follow the fundraising code. 

Take reasonable steps, such as by reading guidance or getting professional advice, to find out what laws apply to the type of fundraising you are doing. For example, if your charity plans to carry out telephone fundraising, check the rules on giving refunds.

Plan your fundraising effectively

It is important that, as trustees, you plan your charity’s approach and think about:

  • what impact your charity wants to achieve
  • what funds your charity needs from fundraising to deliver this impact, taking into account its other income, funds or assets
  • how your charity will use the funds it raises, such as for specific projects
  • what resources your charity has to fundraise, including people
  • fundraising risks

This will help you write a fundraising plan, which could include:

  • the fundraising methods you will use - and any you won’t
  • the values that will influence your charity’s approach and your fundraisers’ conduct
  • how much you will spend on fundraising (your fundraising budget)
  • other resources you will need, such as volunteers
  • how much you want to raise and any other outcomes you want to achieve
  • how you will monitor your charity’s fundraising to make sure it goes to plan
  • how you will make sure funds raised are collected and banked securely. Your plan can refer to your charity’s financial policies
  • how you will manage the risks you have identified. Your plan can refer to your charity’s risk register

Your plan should be appropriate to your charity’s needs. It can be a simple document if your fundraising is on a small scale.

Some charities must explain their fundraising approach in their trustees’ annual report.

Fundraising costs

There is no set amount that a charity should spend on its fundraising. We recognise that costs will vary from year to year, and between different causes, campaigns, and methods.

Your decision on what to spend must be in the charity’s best interest. Use our decision-making guidance to help you.

Fundraising risks

You must identify, review and manage your charity’s fundraising risks. Risks can include:

  • not having the skills in your charity to run effective, or compliant, fundraising campaigns
  • investing in a new campaign that is not as successful as you expected
  • working with particular groups such as children and vulnerable adults
  • running an emotive campaign
  • spending funds on purposes for which they were not raised
  • fundraising fraud
  • handling donors’ personal data

Decide how you will manage your charity’s fundraising risks. For example, if your charity does not have the expertise it needs, you could look at appointing a new trustee with fundraising skills. To deal with fraud risks, check that your charity has the right controls that everyone follows. You can also read relevant guidance.

Raising significant amounts

Occasionally, fundraising can exceed expectations. But there are risks if you unexpectedly raise a significant sum.

Whether you set an ambitious target for your fundraising or not, think about:

If you are raising funds for a specific project, take care how you word your appeal. This will help you if you do raise more money than you need for the project. Appeal wording is covered later in this guidance.

Delegating fundraising

You can allow the following to fundraise on behalf of the charity:

  • individual trustees
  • any employees
  • anyone who volunteers for the charity
  • your charity’s trading subsidiary, if it has one

Make sure that your fundraisers:

So, make sure those who fundraise for your charity have the knowledge, experience and training they need.

You can delegate the management of fundraising, such as managing a campaign or achieving a fundraising target. If you do, give clear written terms of reference, setting out what the person or group can and cannot do, and when and how they will report to you.

Remember, as trustees, you remain accountable for your charity’s fundraising. So, make sure you get the information you need to know how fundraising is happening at your charity. It will help you understand any new risks or concerns. Discuss fundraising at your trustee meetings.

Read what the fundraising code says about working with volunteers.

Read Commission guidance on volunteers.

Solicitation statements and other fundraising materials

Your charity can use fundraising documents and promotional material (such as leaflets or social media posts) when fundraising, to explain what your charity does and why it is raising funds.

Solicitation statements

If you are a trustee, officer or employee of the charity, or its subsidiary, and you are paid more than £10 per day or £1000 per year, and you fundraise for the charity, you must make a solicitation statement.

The solicitation statement must set out:

  • the name of the charity for which the person is raising money
  • their relationship to the charity, for example charity employee
  • that they are paid for their role at the charity or to fundraise for the charity

See section 2.5 of the fundraising code.

State clearly what you are fundraising for

Your charity must only raise funds for its purposes. 

If your charity wishes to spend the funds raised on any or all of your charity’s purposes, say that in your appeal wording. For example:

“Here is an example of one of our projects. To support this and other projects that we run, please give a donation to our charity.”

Your charity can raise funds for a specific project or aim. If you do this:

  • you must not merge these funds with the rest of your charity’s income; they become a ‘restricted’ fund
  • you must spend these funds only on what you said in your appeal. If you cannot, you must comply with certain legal requirements which will involve extra work and costs for your charity

For this reason, you should include a secondary purpose, which is what you will do if:

  • you do not raise enough money to run the project or achieve the aim
  • you raise more money than you need
  • your plans change

 Here is an example of a secondary purpose.

“We are raising funds to buy a modern scanner for our animal rescue centre. If we have donations left after the purchase, or we are unable to buy the scanner, we will spend your donations on buying other equipment for our rescue centre.”

What else to say

If your charity’s income in its last financial year was over £10,000 you must state in your fundraising documents or materials that it is a registered charity. You should include its register number. This sentence must be in English unless your fundraising documents or materials are in Welsh. 

If your charity is a company, you must include its company number.

You should also explain: 

  • what your charity does
  • how to donate to the appeal
  • whether any of the funds raised will be used for fundraising costs, and if so how much or what proportion

If you use social media to fundraise, make sure people can access the detailed information not included in the social media post. Read fundraising on social media.  

You must declare if you are claiming Gift Aid. You may decide to state this in your fundraising documents.

Producing fundraising material

Others within or outside your charity can design and write your charity’s fundraising materials. But as trustees, consider when you should give final approval, such as approving content for a major campaign. Content includes for example leaflets, scripts, videos, social media posts.

Comply with relevant laws and get permission to display any images, including photographs. Where photographs are concerned, you may need an individual’s permission or the permission of a parent or carer.

Read guidance if your charity plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to write fundraising content.

Tell people (such as volunteers) and any external organisations you work with how your fundraising materials can be used and who they can be shared with. This will minimise the risk of them being misused.

If organisations you work with produce any such materials, make sure your charity reviews them. Decide when the trustees (rather than employees) should give final approval.

Read about delegating fundraising.

See section 8 of the fundraising code for more about fundraising communications.

Working with professional fundraisers or commercial participators

A professional fundraiser is a company or person who is paid more than £10 per day or £1000 per year to fundraise for a charity. 

A commercial participator is a company or person who states that money they make from selling goods or services, or from some other commercial activity, will be donated to a charity or charities.

For example, a supermarket states on the packaging of its own brand biscuits that a proportion of the sale price will be donated to a named charity each time a pack is bought. The supermarket is a commercial participator.

Working with professional fundraisers or commercial participators can help your charity:

  • benefit from the skills, knowledge and experience of others
  • promote the charity to the public
  • access new funding

However, there are risks. And you must comply with the law on working with a professional fundraiser or commercial participator.

Carry out due diligence

Check if the professional fundraiser or commercial participator is suitable for your charity to work with. This is called ‘due diligence’. Your checks should be proportionate based on the risks. 

Here are example areas to check:

  • their record on following fundraising law and standards
  • how they run their business
  • the fundraising methods they use
  • their quality and reliability. Get feedback from other charities that have worked with them
  • their financial health. Read their accounts if they are available

It must be in your charity’s best interests to work with them. So, make sure they are a suitable partner.

Check there is alignment with the charity’s approach and values, and for any reputational risks such as around costs. For example, if working with a commercial participator, check how much the charity will get compared with the amount generated overall. If the charity ends up receiving only a small proportion of the money generated overall, this may impact public trust and confidence. It may also suggest that the trustees have not made a decision in the charity’s best interests.  

If you and another charity are jointly working with a commercial participator, understand the risks and benefits to your charity. This includes any risk of association with the other charity.

Find out more about due diligence checks.

Deciding to go ahead

When making your decision, use:

If you decide to go ahead, make sure you have identified the risks and know how you will manage them. The arrangement must not expose the charity to undue risks including to its finances, data, reputation and intellectual property.

Where you are:

  • working with a professional fundraiser, agree a fee which should be reasonable
  • working with a commercial participator, agree a total amount or proportion that the charity will receive from the amount generated by the commercial activity, which should be reasonable

Your decision about fees or what the charity will receive must be in the charity’s best interests.

Before the fundraising begins, you must enter into a written agreement which has all the details that the law requires. You can find these in section 6.2 of the fundraising code.

Think about what else your charity needs to protect its interests. For example, on how they can use the charity’s fundraising materials, or what oversight you need if they will produce fundraising materials for the campaign.

If you are unsure about what needs to be in a written agreement, or how to write it, get advice.

Solicitation statements

Professional fundraisers and commercial participators must make solicitation statements when raising funds for a charity, stating:

  • the name of the charity for which they are raising money
  • the person’s or company’s relationship with the charity
  • that they are paid to fundraise for the charity
  • where they are a professional fundraiser, how much they are being paid for fundraising for the charity and how this is calculated
  • where they are a commercial participator, the proportion or total amount (or estimate) from the amount generated by the commercial activity that will be donated to the charity

Read section 6.4 of the fundraising code.

Monitor your charity’s agreements

You must regularly monitor your charity’s fundraising agreements. This will help you to:

  • check that the agreement is being followed
  • check that fundraising laws and standards are being met
  • check that the arrangement remains in the charity’s best interests
  • act if something goes wrong

If you enter into an agreement with a professional fundraiser or commercial participator, they must keep – and make available to your charity on request – books, records and other documents that they have about your charity and the agreement.

Some charities must state in their trustees’ annual report how they monitored the activities of professional fundraisers or commercial participators.

See section 6.3 of the fundraising code.

Sub-contracting fundraising activity  

A decision to allow a professional fundraiser or commercial participator to contract with another person or company to fundraise for your charity must be in your charity’s best interests. Use our decision-making guidance to help you. You must manage the extra risks that arise when you do not have a direct relationship with the organisation or person fundraising for your charity.

Make sure your agreement protects the charity.  If you are not sure what the agreement should say, get legal advice.

You must monitor the agreement so that you are satisfied that all fundraising on behalf of the charity complies with the law and follows the fundraising code.

Read guidance about sub-contracting.

Fundraising by trustees or connected people

The following may fundraise for your charity:

  • a trustee
  • a person connected to a trustee such as a partner or sibling
  • a company in which a trustee, or someone who is connected to a trustee, has control or influence

Comply with the rules:

  • most trustees and connected persons will not charge for helping the charity to fundraise. However, if you pay them to fundraise or work with them as a professional fundraiser or commercial participator, you must:

  • if you pay them to fundraise, they may be required to make a solicitation statement
  • if they are acting as a professional fundraiser or commercial participator, you must comply with the law on working with professional fundraisers or commercial participators

Fundraising by your charity’s subsidiary

A subsidiary is a company that the charity owns and controls. Many charities own subsidiaries to raise funds.

A charity’s subsidiary is not a ‘professional fundraiser’ or ‘commercial participator’ if it fundraises for the charity. Even so, you must act in the charity’s best interests by having oversight over it and its fundraising activity. You can do this by having a written agreement (similar to terms of reference) and monitoring it. This will also help the public trust and have confidence in your charity. 

If your subsidiary pays its staff to fundraise for the charity, those staff may be required to make a solicitation statement.

The subsidiary can work with professional fundraisers and commercial participators in the way described above. If it decides to do this, you should be satisfied that fundraising on behalf of the charity complies with the law and follows the fundraising code.

Protect your charity and its funds

You must meet your legal duty to protect your charity and act in its best interests.

Your charity should have policies and procedures that protect its funds and assets. Read Commission guidance about this, section 5 of which covers:

  • cash donations
  • claiming Gift Aid
  • tainted charity donations
  • donations of crypto assets

Fundraising fraud

Be alert to fundraising fraud.

Fraud can happen within, or from outside, a charity. It can involve using a charity’s identity. Examples of fraud include:

  • theft from cash collections
  • fraudulent fundraising using the charity’s name or fundraising materials
  • phishing emails that look like they are from a charity asking for donations

You must take reasonable steps to protect your charity from fraud and cybercrime. You should also:

Suspicious donations

Criminals can make charity donations for financial crime, including to launder money. So, make sure:

  • trustees, staff and volunteers know to look out for suspicious donations such as a large, unexpected or anonymous donation or donations with unusual conditions attached
  • they report these to the right people at your charity (trustees or senior staff)

Read know your donor guidance.

Check if you need to report a suspicious donation to the police or the Commission.

Return or refuse a donation

Read the rules on returning or refusing a donation.

Public fundraising in aid of your charity

Many charities benefit from public fundraising, such as people raising money by doing sponsored runs.

The Fundraising Regulator differentiates fundraising that the charity is responsible for and that which is outside of a charity’s control. Read Fundraising Regulator guidance about this to help you identify and manage any risks. For example, by giving information to help the person fundraise effectively.

Donor and appeal information

Keep donor and appeal information securely.

You will need to keep information to:

  • claim Gift Aid
  • tell donors how you have spent their donation and the impact this achieved (if they have given their consent)
  • follow legal steps if you ran an appeal for particular purposes and you cannot spend the funds in the way you said you would

So, keep a record of:

  • the donor’s name, contact details, the donation amount and when it was made
  • how the donor made the payment. For example, via text or online. Make sure you can contact anyone that donates online
  • your fundraising materials including any changes you make
  • your Gift Aid claims

  • any relevant emails or other correspondence, such as a donor asking:

    • that their donation must be spent on a particular charity project or aim
    • for their donation to be returned if you cannot spend it in the way you said you would

You must comply with data protection rules.

Be open and accountable

Your charity must be open and accountable about its fundraising. This means:

  • all charities must produce accounts and a trustees’ annual report that explain where their funds came from and how they were spent

  • some larger charities must include extra information about fundraising in their trustees’ annual report. This includes:

    • whether the charity is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and follows the Code of Fundraising Practice
    • whether there have been failures in following the code
    • the number of fundraising complaints the charity has received
    • what the charity has done to protect vulnerable people, and the public, from being put under undue pressure to donate

Other charities may choose to disclose the extra information.

Read section 7.9 of our guidance about accounting and reporting for a full list of what must be disclosed.

Read section 2.3 of the code, which is about charities handling complaints about fundraising.

Complaints about a charity’s fundraising

If you, as a member of the public, are concerned about a charity’s fundraising, raise it with the charity first.

Fundraising in England and Wales is regulated by the Fundraising Regulator. Contact the Fundraising Regulator if you have a complaint about fundraising:

  • in England, Wales or Northern Ireland
  • in Scotland where the fundraising is carried out by a charity registered in England and Wales or Northern Ireland

Contact the Scottish Fundraising Adjudication Panel if your complaint is about fundraising by a charity registered in Scotland.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales

We work with the Fundraising Regulator when there are concerns that trustees have not met their trustee duties or the law.

Read about how the Commission assesses concerns that come to our attention.

Charities may need to report a fundraising concern to us as a serious incident.

The Commission has jurisdiction over funds raised as charitable appeals for charities, or for charitable purposes. We can act to ensure that funds are applied to the charities, or for the charitable purposes, for which they have been raised.

Further guidance

You can read further guidance, such as:

The following are the main laws and regulations that apply:

Be aware that some other laws will apply to most charities, such as data protection law.

There are also legal rules about:

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