Our recent Charity Sector Risk Assessment underlined how charities continue to deliver extraordinary impact for the communities they serve, but that they are doing so against a backdrop of considerable pressures.
Our analysis shows that while overall sector income and expenditure both grew in 2024, the financial margin across the sector has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
Financial pressure understandably, can lead to governance challenges. In the past year, we saw a 57% increase in cases involving internal disputes within charities, covering matters such as trustee elections and disagreements over land or property. Our engagement with the sector suggests that this rise is partly a consequence of the difficult decisions charities are having to make in response to financial strain, compounded by wider societal tensions.
The role of infrastructure bodies
While the Commission provides guidance to help trustees understand their duties, we can’t directly solve the financial and operational challenges charities face day to day. This is where infrastructure and umbrella bodies can play a vital role, offering practical advice and support that complements our regulatory guidance.
We spoke to Liz Lowther, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Chairs and asked her about navigating this challenging environment while helping others do the same.
Tell us a little about your organisation
AoC: All charities are led by trustees – but these leaders aren’t always given the support, training, and development they need to fulfil their crucial volunteer roles. That’s why we exist. We champion and support chairs and trustees so they can be the best leaders they can be. Strong, effective boards make better collective decisions, maximising their charity’s resilience and social impact. With our specialist training, resources, support services and our community, we make sure chairs and trustees have the confidence and knowledge they need to lead their charities well.
Can you give us a practical example of how you’ve helped a charity fulfil its mission more effectively in recent months?
AoC: With our unique community and understanding of the challenges facing chairs and trustees, we are able to support them when the going gets tough. This is particularly helpful for smaller charities (60% of our members have a turnover below £1m), which do not have funds to spare on expensive advice or legal support. One charity we helped recently was facing a raft of issues related to serious complaints, safeguarding issues, sudden managerial exits and problems with their organisational culture. Their chair contacted us for advice on how to tackle these, and to ensure they were acting in line with their legal responsibilities. Through our experienced chair network and access to our mentoring services, they received guidance and help to come up with an action plan to address all the concerns. This enabled the board to work more effectively with the senior leadership team to resolve the challenges and refocus on the charity’s mission.
Are there are common misunderstandings about infrastructure bodies?
AoC: Some people might think that infrastructure organisations are removed from the day-to-day challenges that other charities face, or may see them as less valuable than frontline organisations. But infrastructure plays an essential role in helping charities be more resilient and effective, with a huge multiplier effect. It’s a really cost-effective way for charities to access the support and connections they need. AoC is itself a small charity, and our membership fees contribute towards the delivery of our services. We also provide bursaries, and free events and resources wherever possible, recognising that many who need the support may not otherwise be able to access it.
What is the biggest challenge facing infrastructure bodies right now?
AoC: As recent high-profile closures have shown, infrastructure organisations are facing increased financial pressures at the same time as sector needs have grown and become more complex. Funding for infrastructure has been shrinking for some time. Charities are having to make difficult decisions about where to allocate scarce resources while faced with increasing costs, and funding for memberships, training and development are often among the first to be cut. This is particularly true when it comes to board development - the Charity Commission and Pro Bono Economic's 2025 national trustee survey found that only 48% felt confident they had access to the training needed to fulfil their role. This is a challenge for infrastructure but also for effective sector leadership and governance. As infrastructure, our role in providing guidance and advocacy has never been more critical, and the support networks we provide never more needed.
Forging a stronger sector
Unfortunately, infrastructure bodies are not insulated from the financial pressures affecting the wider sector. We had been working with the Directory of Social Change on a contribution to this blog, but sadly it recently announced that it had appointed an insolvency practitioner to oversee its closure. Reach Volunteering, also shared its planned closure in September but by the end of that month, it had reversed the decision after receiving “unprecedented” support from funders.
The sector's resilience depends not only on individual charities managing their own risks well, but on a strong and sustainable network of support around them. While the extent of engagement with infrastructure bodies is a matter for individual charities to determine in their own context, at sector level the Commission sees huge value in their continuing role.
Julia Unwin, Charity Commission Chair, described them in her recent speech at our Annual Public Meeting as “the rich web of organisations that provide support, bring organisations together, provide the scaffolding that keeps charities running effectively and efficiently.”
These bodies are uniquely placed to offer peer support to charity leaders, share practical advice and resources to reduce the need for charities to pay for professional advice and to advocate for the sector across government and beyond. The Commission will continue to engage with infrastructure bodies as they help charities manage a changing landscape in the months and years ahead.
Our full Charity Sector Risk Assessment 2026, along with our related guidance for trustees, is available on GOV.UK.
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