Research also shows public trust in charities remains high
A quarter of charities say they've been impacted by polarisation and division in society, including vandalism, protests, changes in the level of support or having to stop or change their services, according to new research published by the Charity Commission .
Researchers asked a representative sample of trustees whether and how they or their charity had been affected by the challenging social environment. Two percent of those asked say their staff have been threatened in person.
In 2025, the Commission convened a roundtable to hear of the experiences of refugee charities facing hostility - including threats of violence. The new research offers confirmation that a significant minority of charities is impacted by community tensions. Incidents reported include vandalism or damage to their property (overall 4% of charities); a decrease in support (11% overall), having to change or stop services (5%). While most impacts are adverse, some charities (9%) report an increase in support.
Charities promoting causes such as human rights, or religious and racial harmony are most likely to say they have been impacted.
The research, carried out by BMG on behalf of the Charity Commission, was conducted in February 2026 and involved a survey of almost 3,000 trustees of a representative sample of charities.
Rachel Wenstone, Assistant Director of Policy at Charity Commission said:
This research gives us clear evidence of the scale of what charities have been telling us over the past 18 months. We have heard deeply concerning accounts of staff being threatened, intimidated, and left afraid simply for doing their jobs. These findings show those experiences are not isolated: a significant minority of charities are now operating in an environment marked by hostility and threat. Ultimately, this impacts on the people charities are there to help, with some charities changing or curtailing their services as a result.
Charities are not above criticism or scrutiny. The public is entitled to question, challenge and choose which causes to support. But disagreement should never cross the line into abuse, intimidation or threats of violence, and registered charities should be enabled to pursue their legitimate, legal purposes. We will continue to monitor these trends closely and encourage charities to report serious incidents to us.
Continued financial strain
The new findings suggest that charities continue to face financial strain, though there are signs that the challenges are no longer escalating. Unexpected reliance on financial reserves has decreased compared to 2025 (12% dipped into reserves more than planned this year, compared to 17% in 2025). A small proportion of trustees - 4% - say they expect their charity may close over the next year.
For the first time since Covid the number of people using charity services has fallen, though people are still receiving more financial help from charities than was the case pre-Covid (6%, up from 3% in 2020). The findings do not indicate whether this results from falling demand or decreased supply as a result of charities reducing or ceasing services,) or a combination of these factors.
A third of charities report concerns about services provided by banks, though the picture appears to be gradually improving, with the prevalence of issues down overall since 2024. Among the most common concerns are issues updating signatories or
