# Charity Commission issues new grant-making guidance

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2026/06/11/charity-commission-issues-new-grant-making-guidance/
- Published: 2026-06-11T15:12:07+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The Charity Commission has published updated guidance to help charity trustees
make confident, responsible grant-making decisions. The release arrives at a time
when many organisations across England and Wales face sustained financial pressure
and increased service demand.**

Expanding on previous documentation, the guidance now covers all forms of grant-
making. It explicitly details the flexibility available to grant-making charities
to provide **unrestricted funding** to organisations with similar or narrower purposes.
This approach allows recipient charities the freedom to allocate funds where needed
most, including covering core operating costs or responding to shifting beneficiary
needs.

## Regulatory expectations and risk management

The revised guidance also addresses **funding for non-charitable organisations**,
noting that such partnerships can help extend impact into communities where few 
registered charities operate. However, because non-charities are subject to different
regulatory frameworks, the Commission emphasises that trustees must take reasonable
steps to assess and manage potential risks.

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**In all instances**, grant-making organisations are required to implement written
agreements and monitor recipients to ensure compliance with agreed terms. Trustees
are expected to conduct appropriate due diligence checks to verify that potential
recipient organisations are genuine and operate transparently.

## Rising sector demand

The guidance update forms part of the regulator’s wider strategy to support effective
philanthropy. Commission data from 2024 reveals that **32,661 charities reported
grant-making activities, awarding a total of £17.84 billion**. This represents an
increase from the £16.97 billion awarded in 2023. Despite this growth in funding,
annual return data highlights an ongoing financial squeeze, which coincides with
a **three-fold increase in demand for charitable services**.

**Mazeda Alam**, Head of Trustee Guidance at the Charity Commission, commented that
the guidance is designed to give philanthropists and grant-makers the flexibility
to use their best judgement when awarding funds, allowing them to support the sector
confidently.

She added:

> “Any funding decision must ultimately be driven by one question: **will this help
> the grant-making charity further its purpose**, and make a difference to the people
> and causes it exists to serve? This guidance gives trustees assurance that they
> can answer that question, and to make decisions that are both bold and responsible.”

Trustees can access the complete regulatory guidance and further details on annual
return statistics on the [Gov.uk website](https://www.gov.uk).

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