What Charities Aid Foundation does

Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), registered UK charity number 268369, was established in 1923 and operates a three-pillar platform across Personal Giving, Corporate Giving, and Services for Charities, anchored by its wholly-owned banking subsidiary CAF Bank Limited (authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA under Financial Services Register number 204451) and wholly-owned CAF Financial Solutions Limited. Headquartered in West Malling, Kent with a regional office in London, CAF employs 251-500 staff and serves individual donors, UK businesses, and 160,000+ charities and social enterprises, distributing over £1 billion annually to non-profits and processing £60 million of employee donations per year through payroll giving.

The technology stack is a digital philanthropy platform: a searchable charity database of 160,000+ organisations, an online fundraising product (CAF Donate) for charities, specialist online banking for charities (CAF Cash Account), payroll giving infrastructure tied to employer systems, a charity deposit platform via Flagstone Investment Management, IFSL-managed investment funds, and savings products via Shawbrook Bank. Grants of secured and unsecured social investment loans are operated through CAF Bank, including facilities to housing associations, religious organisations, and social enterprises. Research publications such as the World Giving Report (105 countries, 60,000+ respondents), UK Giving Report, UK Charity Insights Report (500+ charity leaders surveyed), UK Local Giving Report, The Philanthropy Advantage Report, Payroll Giving Report, and Corporate Giving Report establish thought leadership across individuals, corporates, and the charity sector.

The revenue model blends transaction-based, managed-services, and professional-services economics: a 1.5% fee on Staff Charity Fund pooled employee donations, interest income from lending to charities and social enterprises, administration fees for Give As You Earn (Payroll Giving Agency since 1987), fees on charitable trusts and donor-advised giving accounts, and consultancy fees for corporate foundation design, grant programme design, impact measurement, and charity strategic advisory. Distribution combines direct digital (cafonline.org) consumer and small-business flows, a dedicated corporate account management team for enterprise accounts (clients include Halma, AstraZeneca, Landsec, BNP Paribas UK, Smiths Foundation, Intact Insurance), specialist banking relationship management through CAF Bank, payroll giving channels embedded in employer systems, and a professional adviser referral channel via wealth managers that is being actively developed per 2026 research by Public First showing near-25% client-lifetime-value uplift potential.

Name

Charities Aid Foundation

Legal name

Charities Aid Foundation

Website

https://cafonline.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1923

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) is a UK registered charity (number 268369) founded in 1923 that operates a three-pillar philanthropy platform serving individual donors, corporate donors, and 160,000+ charities through its wholly-owned banking subsidiary CAF Bank and services including payroll giving, donor-advised giving, social investment loans, and philanthropy research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Giving and Philanthropy Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Savings Institution, Federally Chartered (6035), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Trust Advisory (FSAEAKAH), Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services (FSAAANAI), Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH)

Keywords

• Charitable giving services
• Payroll giving administration
• Charity banking services
• Philanthropy advisory
• Donor-advised funds

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Charity Account and Trust Administration: Fees for managing charitable trusts, donor-advised funds, and giving accounts. Donors can hold funds until ready to make charitable donations.
2. Staff Charity Fund Management: 1.5% fee taken from pooled employee donation fund. Organisations can choose to cover this fee to support employee giving.
3. CAF Bank Lending: Interest income from secured and unsecured loans to charities and social enterprises. Loans support housing associations, community organisations, and charitable ventures.
4. Payroll Giving Administration: Administration of Give As You Earn scheme enabling employees to donate directly from salary. CAF has been Payroll Giving Agency since 1987.
5. Strategic Advisory Services: Consultancy fees for corporate foundation design, impact measurement frameworks, grant programme design, and charity advisory services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Charities Aid Foundation is a registered charity that facilitates and grows charitable giving across the UK and globally. It operates three core service lines: Personal Giving (giving accounts, Gift Aid, trusts, legacy gifts, payroll giving for individuals and HNW donors), Corporate Giving (company giving accounts, Give As You Earn, matched giving, corporate foundations, workplace fundraising), and Services for Charities (specialist banking and lending through CAF Bank, social investment, fundraising platforms, and strategic consultancy). The organisation distributes over £1 billion annually to non-profits and serves 160,000+ charities through its database and intermediary services.

Product overview

Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) operates as a platform-plus-services organization offering three primary pillars: Personal Giving (individual donor services), Corporate Giving (business philanthropy solutions), and Services for Charities (financial and advisory support). The core banking subsidiary, CAF Bank, provides specialized current accounts, savings products, and loans exclusively for charities. The product portfolio includes giving accounts (CAF Giving Account, Company Giving Account), payroll giving (Give As You Earn), structured giving vehicles (Charitable Trust, Corporate Foundation, Legacy Gift), and fundraising tools (CAF Donate). Supplementary financial products include savings accounts via partner providers (Shawbrook Bank, Flagstone Investment Management), investment funds (IFSL CAF Investment Funds), and social investment loans. Research publications (World Giving Report, UK Giving Report, Charity Insights Report, Payroll Giving Report) complement the service offering by providing sector intelligence. The International Network extends reach beyond the UK, US, and Canada through locally led partner organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CAF Cash Account An everyday banking account for charities providing online banking, cash and cheque deposits at Post Office and HSBC/RBS branches, and dedicated customer support from CAF Bank.
• CAF Charity Deposit Platform A savings platform provided through partnership with Flagstone Investment Management that enables charities to access multiple savings providers through a single CAF-branded interface.
• IFSL CAF Investment Funds Investment funds managed by IFSL and available to charities through CAF for ESG-aligned and diversified portfolio investing.
• CAF 60 Day Notice Account A savings account with a 60-day notice period for withdrawals, provided through Shawbrook Bank to charities using CAF.
• CAF 12 Month Fixed Rate Saver A fixed-rate savings account with a 12-month term provided through Shawbrook Bank to charities via CAF.
• Giving Account A charitable account allowing individual donors to make donations, claim Gift Aid, and hold funds until ready to distribute to chosen charities.
• Give As You Earn (GAYE) Payroll giving scheme allowing employees to donate directly from their salary to charities, with tax benefits at point of donation. CAF has processed over £1.6 billion through GAYE since 1987 and operates the Payroll Giving Quality Mark accreditation.
• Company Giving Account A corporate account for managing all company charitable giving in one place, enabling payroll giving administration and matched giving programmes.
• Social Investment Secured and unsecured loans for charities and social enterprises to support growth, working capital, and expansion projects such as housing developments, renovations, and new service launches.
• CAF Donate An online fundraising platform enabling charities to raise donations through customizable donation pages with built-in donation management tools.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £1 billion distributed to charities annually
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Public FirstminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 6 February 2026Economic modelling consultancy commissioned by CAF to research benefits of philanthropy advice in wealth management sector. Found that offering philanthropy advice could increase client lifetime value by nearly 25 percent.
• SITA Air Transport Community FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAF partnered with SITA Foundation to deliver educational programmes and technology to communities in Africa. Initial focus includes creating computer labs in Ethiopia and Uganda, educational grants in South Africa, and solar power installations at schools. Programme aims to establish around 30 computer labs benefiting more than 10,000 students.
• Computer Aid InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology partner for SITA Foundation initiative, providing computer labs for educational programmes in Ethiopia and Uganda.
• PEASminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation partner in SITA Foundation initiative focused on delivering educational programmes in Africa.
• University of the WitwatersrandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in SITA Foundation initiative providing educational grants in South Africa.
• CAF International NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal network of locally-led, independent organisations extending CAF's reach beyond UK, US, and Canada. Group of organisations working together on philanthropy and charitable giving worldwide.
• Smiths FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic global grant programme created with CAF supporting employee-nominated charities. Partnership helps drive employee engagement while maximising charitable impact.
• LandseccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate giving partnership helping Landsec energise employees and transform lives of communities they operate in through employee-driven giving platform.
• AstraZenecacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership including Patient Organisations Recovery Fund - collaborative initiative bringing together pharmaceutical companies to provide unrestricted funding for small patient charities during pandemic.
• Schroders Wealth ManagementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient partnership exploring leadership and collaboration in corporate responsibility. Schroders launched pandemic appeal using catalytic fundraising to encourage clients to give.
• Siemens PlcminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCorporate client using Staff Charity Fund to pool employee donations tax-free to collective causes. Siemens staff can donate through Give As You Earn and collectively support chosen charities.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Fidelity Charitable: The largest US donor-advised fund sponsor, intermediating billions in charitable giving from individual and corporate donors — directly analogous to CAF's Giving Account and Charitable Trust model.
• Schwab Charitable: Major US donor-advised fund provider offering giving accounts and investment solutions for charitable donors; competes in the same donor-advised giving category as CAF's Personal Giving pillar.
• National Philanthropic Trust: US donor-advised fund sponsor and philanthropy services provider; comparable in administering donor-advised funds and producing sector research similar to CAF's World Giving Report.
• Charity Bank: UK-regulated ethical bank specifically serving charities and social enterprises with savings and lending products — closest direct competitor to CAF Bank within the UK charity banking niche.
• Foundation Source: Provider of private foundation administration, grantmaking, and compliance services — overlaps with CAF's Charitable Trust, Corporate Foundation, and Strategic Consultancy offerings.
• Vanguard Charitable: Donor-advised fund sponsor serving individual and corporate donors with tax-efficient giving vehicles; mirrors CAF's trust, giving account, and advisory model.
• Unity Trust Bank: UK specialist bank serving charities, social enterprises, and purpose-driven organisations with banking and lending — competes with CAF Bank for the same nonprofit customer base.

Broad incumbents

• GoFundMe: Global online fundraising platform enabling direct individual-to-cause donations; competes indirectly for donor mindshare and represents a structural disintermediation risk to intermediated giving platforms.
• Blackbaud: Large US-headquartered software and services provider for the nonprofit sector, offering fundraising, CRM, and finance tools — a broad incumbent whose product portfolio overlaps with CAF's charity-facing services.
• JustGiving: Major online giving platform enabling direct donor-to-charity donations; competes with CAF Donate and the charity search database for online fundraising flows.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cafonline
• Facebookfacebook.com/CharitiesAidFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charities-aid-foundation

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Charities Aid Foundation