What the Charity Commission's latest Risk Assessment means for your charity

On 18 August 2026 the Charity Commission published its second annual Charity Sector Risk Assessment — its overview of the biggest risks facing charities in England and Wales, drawn from a year of its own casework. Headlines described charities facing "increasingly complex attacks", which sounds alarming. But for trustees the assessment is better read as something useful and free: a ready-made agenda for your next risk conversation. It tells you where problems are actually arising across the sector, so you can check honestly whether the same weak points exist in your own organisation. This article summarises what it found and how to turn it into practical action. It is general information, not advice.

What the assessment found

A few themes stand out, and none of them is exotic — they are the ordinary things that go wrong when governance is weak:

• Abuse of charitable status for private benefit is rising sharply. Concerns of this kind rose 29% in 2025–26 (to 374 cases), on top of a 38% rise the year before. This is about charities — or people connected to them — being used to channel money or advantage to private individuals rather than the cause.
• Safeguarding is the single biggest category of concern. Around a quarter of all concerns raised with the Commission relate to safeguarding — a reminder that it remains the area most likely to bring a charity to the regulator's attention.
• Fraud, extremism and the misuse of AI are flagged as growing risks. The Commission notes, strikingly, that AI is already being used to file fraudulent applications to register charities or obtain grants. Extremism-related casework is also up.
• The Commission is sharing more information with other agencies. It passed information to bodies such as HMRC, the police and local councils around 500 times last year — up 8% — a sign that serious concerns increasingly travel beyond the Commission alone.

Underlying all of it are the two pressures the Commission has named before: tighter finances, and the speed with which weak governance can damage public trust.

What it means for faith-based charities

Faith-based charities are not singled out in the assessment — these are sector-wide risks that apply to charities of every kind and every tradition. But several of the themes land close to home for faith organisations, and it's worth being honest about why:

• Private benefit and conflicts of interest can be harder to see clearly in close-knit communities, where trustees, families, contractors and beneficiaries are often known to one another. That closeness is a strength — but it makes clear, documented decision-making and properly managed conflicts more important, not less.
• Safeguarding sits at the heart of organisations that run youth work, pastoral care, community activities and worship open to the public.
• Overseas giving is a feature of many faith charities' work, and remains an area of regulatory attention where good due diligence matters.
• Cash, collections and trust-based handling of money are common, and need the same disciplines as any other charity's finances.

The point isn't that faith charities are riskier — it's that the assessment names risks that faith organisations are well placed to manage if they treat the basics seriously.

Turning it into a risk-register conversation

The most useful thing a board can do with this is spend twenty minutes asking, honestly, "could that be us?" against each theme:

• Private benefit and conflicts: Are conflicts of interest identified, declared, managed and recorded? Would a related-party transaction stand up to outside scrutiny? (This connects to finance being every trustee's responsibility.)
• Safeguarding: Are your policies current, known and actually followed — not just filed? Our note on keeping safeguarding robust is a starting point.
• Fraud, cyber and AI: Do you have basic financial controls, and are you alert to newer threats? See protecting your data and the ICO and using AI responsibly.
• Overseas funding: If you send money abroad, is your due diligence proportionate and documented? See sending donations abroad and assessing partnerships to protect your organisation.
• Financial resilience: Do you understand your reserves position and your exposure if income falls?

None of this requires a compliance department — it requires a board willing to look at itself plainly and write down what it finds.

The serious end — and why early engagement matters

The assessment also reflects the Commission using its powers more actively. At the most serious end that can mean a statutory inquiry or even an interim manager appointed to run a charity. The clear lesson from almost every serious case is the same: problems engaged with early, openly and honestly are far less likely to escalate. A regulator that makes contact is not, in itself, a disaster — going quiet or defensive is what turns a concern into a crisis.

What to do now

• Put the assessment on your next agenda and walk through each risk theme against your own charity.
• Refresh your risk register — and make sure it's a living document, not a form completed once.
• Check your conflicts-of-interest and safeguarding practice are current and evidenced.
• Review your financial controls and reserves, especially if income is under pressure.
• Agree how you'd respond if the Commission ever made contact — calmly, promptly and cooperatively.

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This article is general information, not advice. Your risks depend on your charity's size, activities and circumstances. If you'd like help turning this into a practical risk review — or strengthening the finance and governance foundations behind it — talk to us.