What Fundraising Regulator does

The Fundraising Regulator is the independent regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, constituted as a company limited by guarantee (no. 10016446) in England and Wales. It was established following a 2015 government-commissioned review led by Sir Stuart Etherington and assumed regulatory responsibility from the Chartered Institute of Fundraising on 7 July 2016. Headquartered at 50 Featherstone Street, London, the organization operates with a small staff team organized into five functional areas: casework, communications and corporate services, finance and registration, policy, and proactive regulation. It is governed by a non-executive Board of Directors and serves registered charities, exempt charities (such as universities), community interest companies with charitable objectives, commercial fundraising agencies, third-party fundraisers, and online fundraising platforms operating across its three jurisdictions, alongside engagement with the general public and donors.

The organization's service portfolio comprises regulatory rather than commercial products. Core offerings include the Code of Fundraising Practice (the principal standards document, substantially revised effective 1 November 2025), the Fundraising Directory (a public registry of registered organizations), the Fundraising Preference Service (a free opt-out mechanism for unwanted direct marketing contact from charities), the Fundraising Badge (a visual compliance marker displayed by registered organizations), a Code Advice Service, a Proactive Regulation function conducting thematic reviews, and a Complaints Investigation Service. Technology is not central to the operating model; distribution is primarily digital through the website, online registration portal, and self-service preference platform, supplemented by consultation papers, webinars, and social media channels.

The Fundraising Regulator is funded principally by an annual voluntary Fundraising Levy on charities spending £100,000 or more annually on fundraising, with supplementary income from scaled registration fees paid by smaller charities, community interest companies, and commercial fundraising businesses. Despite operating without statutory enforcement powers, the organization reports high levels of compliance with its decisions. It maintains formal Memorandums of Understanding with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, the Scottish Fundraising Adjudication Panel, the Information Commissioner's Office, the Gambling Commission, the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, the Office for Students, and the Regulator of Community Interest Companies.

Name

Fundraising Regulator

Legal name

Fundraising Regulator

Website

https://fundraisingregulator.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Fundraising Regulator is the independent, non-statutory regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, established in 2016. It maintains the Code of Fundraising Practice, operates a public directory and the Fundraising Preference Service, and is funded primarily by a levy on larger charities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Sector Regulation

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Protection & Product Safety Regulators (BPAIAOAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Data Protection, Privacy & Cybersecurity Regulators (BPAIAOAH)

Keywords

• Charitable fundraising regulation
• Fundraising code of practice
• Charity registration services
• Donor preference management
• Fundraising complaints investigation

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fundraising Levy: Annual voluntary levy on charities spending £100,000 or more each year on fundraising. This is the primary funding source.
2. Registration Fees: Fees from registration of commercial fundraising businesses, community interest companies, and charities spending less than £100,000 annually on fundraising.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fundraising Regulator is the independent regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It registers fundraising organisations, sets and maintains the Code of Fundraising Practice, investigates complaints about fundraising conduct, and operates the Fundraising Preference Service enabling the public to opt out of unwanted charity contact. The organisation is funded by a voluntary annual levy on charities spending £100,000 or more on fundraising and by scaled registration fees from smaller charities, community interest companies and commercial fundraisers.

Product overview

The Fundraising Regulator is the independent regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The organization offers a portfolio of regulatory services rather than a commercial product: the Code of Fundraising Practice (standards document effective November 2025), the Fundraising Directory (public registry of registered organizations), Fundraising Preference Service (opt-out service for unwanted charity contact), Fundraising Badge (registration identifier for compliant charities), Code Advice Service (guidance on fundraising standards), Proactive Regulation (monitoring and market inquiry function), Complaints Investigation Service, and Registration Services. These services work together to protect donors, set fundraising standards, and ensure compliance across the UK charitable sector.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fundraising Badge: The logo that says 'registered with Fundraising Regulator' - means organisations have committed to legal, open, honest and respectful fundraising.
• Fundraising Preference Service (FPS)
• Code Advice Service

Products and services

• Fundraising Preference Service (FPS) A free self-service facility that allows members of the public to opt out of direct marketing communications (addressed mail, email, text and phone) from up to ten registered charities at once in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Fundraising Badge A registration mark downloaded from the registered users' area and displayed by compliant organisations to signal commitment to legal, open, honest and respectful fundraising in line with the Code of Fundraising Practice.
• Code of Fundraising Practice The regulatory standards document that sets the rules and principles applicable to all charitable fundraising in the UK, covering behaviour when fundraising, working with others, and specific fundraising methods.
• Fundraising Directory A public online directory listing all fundraising organisations registered with the Fundraising Regulator, including their commitment to good fundraising practice and levy payment status.
• Code Advice Service A service allowing fundraisers and members of the public to ask specific questions about how the Code of Fundraising Practice applies to particular fundraising activities.
• Proactive Regulation Monitoring and promotion of sector compliance with the Code through market inquiry projects, thematic reviews, and guidance development on emerging issues in charitable fundraising.
• Complaints Investigation Service Investigation of concerns about charitable fundraising where organisations cannot resolve them through their own processes, assessing compliance with the Code and taking action where necessary.
• Registration Services A registration scheme for charities and non-charities conducting charitable fundraising in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, with fees scaled according to fundraising activity levels.

Quantifiable outcome

• High level of compliance with decisions despite no statutory powers

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Charity Commission for England and WalescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMemorandum of Understanding outlining collaboration on issues of mutual interest in charity regulation. The Commission is the main regulator for charities in England and Wales.
• Charity Commission for Northern IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMemorandum of Understanding for cooperation on charity regulation matters affecting Northern Ireland.
• Scottish Fundraising Adjudication PanelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMemorandum of Understanding covering fundraising regulation in Scotland. The Panel adjudicates on Scottish-only registered charities while the Fundraising Regulator handles Scottish fundraising by charities regulated by Charity Commission for England and Wales or Northern Ireland.
• Gambling CommissionsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerMemorandum of Understanding for cooperation on matters relating to lotteries and raffles which fall within gambling regulation scope.
• Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMemorandum of Understanding for collaboration on data protection matters affecting charitable fundraising and direct marketing.
• Chartered Institute of FundraisingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMemorandum of Understanding with the professional body for fundraisers covering code development, guidance, and sector standards.
• Office for StudentssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerMemorandum of Understanding covering higher education institution fundraising regulation matters.
• Regulator of Community Interest CompaniessecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerMemorandum of Understanding covering fundraising by CICs that falls within the Fundraising Regulator's scope.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Charity Commission for England and Wales: Statutory regulator of charities in England and Wales. It is the closest peer in the UK charity regulatory ecosystem, with which the Fundraising Regulator operates under a Memorandum of Understanding covering mutual-interest issues in charity regulation.
• Scottish Fundraising Adjudication Panel: Independent panel adjudicating on fundraising complaints involving charities only registered with OSCR in Scotland. It is a direct sector peer with an MOU with the Fundraising Regulator covering cross-border Scottish fundraising.
• Charity Commission for Northern Ireland: Statutory regulator of charities in Northern Ireland. It is a directly comparable sector regulator and core MOU partner for cooperation on charity regulation matters affecting Northern Ireland.
• Regulator of Community Interest Companies: Regulator of Community Interest Companies in the UK. It is a directly comparable regulatory body with an MOU covering fundraising by CICs that falls within the Fundraising Regulator's scope.

Broad incumbents

• Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): UK's independent data protection and information rights regulator. It is a broader-incumbent peer because it overlaps with the Fundraising Regulator on data-driven fundraising, direct marketing, and donor data, and the two bodies operate under an MOU.
• Advertising Standards Authority (ASA): UK advertising self-regulator. Multiple senior staff at the Fundraising Regulator (Head of Casework Andrea Gregory, Head of Proactive Regulation Jim Tebbett) came from the ASA, and the ASA's standards on fundraising advertising overlap with the Fundraising Regulator's Code.
• Gambling Commission: UK regulator of gambling and lotteries. It is a broader-incumbent peer with an MOU covering lotteries and raffles, which intersect with charitable fundraising regulation under the Fundraising Regulator's Code.
• Office for Students: Regulator of higher education providers in England. It is a broader-incumbent peer via an MOU covering higher education institution fundraising, including exempt charities such as universities.

Others

• National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO): England's largest membership body for the voluntary sector. It is an adjacent ecosystem peer — the Fundraising Regulator's Head of Policy previously spent four years at NCVO, and the two organizations coordinate on voluntary-sector policy.
• Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF): Professional membership body for fundraisers in the UK. It is a closely related sector body that historically operated fundraising self-regulation before the Fundraising Regulator was established; it now has an MOU covering code development, guidance and sector standards.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FundrRegulator
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCaLkjrno4i2lzbigy7c097A
• Facebookfacebook.com/FundraisingRegulator
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fundraising-regulator

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Fundraising Regulator