The Charity Commission’s ‘Research and Analysis Charity Sector Risk Assessment’ for 2026 has been issued.
Government UK writes:
The Charity Commission’s Charity Sector Risk Assessment was published for the first time last year to provide an overview of potential risks to the sector, and to support trustees and charity leaders in their decision making. This year we have seen charities continue to make a huge impact and demonstrate considerable resilience in the face of challenging circumstances. As detailed in this report, a variety of economic and social challenges could threaten charities’ ability to deliver on their purposes. Despite this, the sector as a whole continues to deliver extraordinary outcomes in service of a range of charitable causes – powered by the skill and effort of dedicated trustees, volunteers and employees.
This report utilises a range of information available to the Commission as the regulator of charities in England and Wales, which includes our:
- access to thousands of sets of accounts and annual returns from trustees
- insights from investigating hundreds of compliance concerns every year
- data from hundreds of contacts via our ‘report a concern about a charity’ service
- data from thousands of issues reported via our ‘Report a Serious Incident (RSI)’ service
- intelligence referrals from other government departments or statutory bodies.
It also draws upon horizon scanning and gathering of insights from sector bodies and others with knowledge of the sector. Every charity is different and, as such, not all of the risks in this assessment will apply to each and every charity. But we would encourage trustees to consider the issues raised here as they review their charities’ own risk registers, and to consult relevant Commission guidance as required.
To read about key risks in more detail go to the following link:
