The charity 'soft opt-in': what the new rules mean for reaching your supporters

A quiet but genuinely useful change in the law has made it easier for charities to stay in touch with their supporters. Since 5 February 2026, charities have been able to use a "charitable purposes soft opt-in" — meaning you can send fundraising emails and texts to people who have engaged with your cause without having to obtain their consent first, provided you meet strict conditions. For faith-based organisations that rely on email and text to reach congregations, donors and volunteers, this is well worth understanding — but it comes with important conditions and one crucial catch. Here is what it means and how to use it safely. It is general information, not advice — take professional advice on your own data practices.

What's changed

Until now, charities generally needed consent before sending electronic marketing — including fundraising appeals — to their supporters by email, text or social-media message. Businesses, by contrast, have long had a "soft opt-in" that lets them market to existing customers without prior consent. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 changed this by amending the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) to give charities an equivalent exemption for their charitable purposes. Both the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the Fundraising Regulator have published guidance to help charities use it correctly.

What the soft opt-in lets you do

Under the new rules, a charity can send direct marketing by electronic mail — emails, text messages, and direct messages on social media, including fundraising asks — to people who have expressed an interest in, or offered support for, the charity's charitable purposes, without obtaining consent first — as long as the conditions below are all met.

The conditions — all four must be met

1. You must be a charity.
2. You obtained the person's contact details directly from them — not from a third party or a bought list — in the course of them engaging with your charitable purposes (for example, donating, volunteering, signing up, or making an enquiry).
3. The sole purpose of the marketing is to further your charitable purposes. You must not mix in marketing for products or services unless you have separate, explicit consent for that.
4. You gave the person a simple way to opt out — both when you collected their details and in every message you send them afterwards.

The crucial catch: the February 2026 date line

This is the point most likely to trip charities up. The soft opt-in can only be used for contact details collected on or after 5 February 2026. Your existing supporter list — anyone whose details you gathered before that date — still requires consent to receive electronic marketing. You cannot retrofit the soft opt-in to your old data. In practice, then, this is a change that applies going forward, to new supporters, donors and sign-ups from February 2026 onwards.

What it means for faith-based organisations

For a church, mosque, temple, gurdwara or faith charity that communicates with its community by email and text, this is a helpful, practical change: you can now reach people who have genuinely engaged with your cause — donors, volunteers, event sign-ups — with fundraising communications, without the friction of chasing separate marketing consent. But use it with care:

• Keep charitable and commercial communications separate — a soft-opt-in fundraising message must not also be selling tickets, products or services (unless you have consent for that).
• Mind your existing list — keep pre-February-2026 supporters on their existing consent basis.
• Be careful with vulnerable supporters — consider whether it is appropriate to send marketing to particular individuals at all.

Don't forget: GDPR still applies

The soft opt-in is about the PECR rules on electronic marketing consent — it does not switch off your obligations under UK GDPR. You still need a lawful basis to process the personal data, a clear and accurate privacy notice, good data security, and prompt respect for any opt-out or objection. The two regimes work together, and both must be satisfied.

Practical steps to get ready

1. Update your sign-up and collection points (forms, donation pages, event bookings) to include a clear, simple opt-out — and record the date and source of each contact.
2. Separate your charitable messaging from any commercial messaging.
3. Put an easy unsubscribe in every message.
4. Keep your pre-February-2026 list on its existing consent footing — don't merge it into soft-opt-in sends.
5. Update your privacy notice to reflect how you contact supporters.
6. Brief your team and volunteers, and think carefully about vulnerable supporters.
7. Read the ICO and Fundraising Regulator guidance, and take advice if you're unsure.

The bottom line

The charitable purposes soft opt-in is a welcome, practical change: it lets faith-based charities reach their engaged supporters more easily, without the old friction of separate marketing consent. Used well, it can strengthen the relationship with your community and support your fundraising. Used carelessly, it can breach the rules. So meet the four conditions, mind the 5 February 2026 date line, keep your GDPR duties firmly in view, and treat every supporter — especially the vulnerable — with respect.

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This article is general information, not advice. Data-protection and electronic-marketing law is detailed and fact-specific — always check the current ICO and Fundraising Regulator guidance, and take professional advice on your own practices. For help getting your supporter communications and data practices right, get in touch.

Sources verified (August 2026):

• ICO — Charities given new flexibility to contact supporters under data law change — https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2026/04/charities-given-new-flexibility-to-contact-supporters-under-data-law-change/
• ICO — Guidance on direct marketing using electronic mail (how to comply with the PECR electronic-mail rules and the charity soft opt-in) — https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guidance-on-direct-marketing-using-electronic-mail/
• Fundraising Regulator — Charitable purposes soft opt-in and fundraising marketing — https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/about-fundraising/resources/charitable-purposes-soft-opt-and-fundraising-marketing
• Legislation.gov.uk — Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/18/contents