Aipedia: Charities and trustees

Charity Commission and Fundraising Regulator on AI

Aipedia, by the Apex broking team · Last reviewed 2026-10-30

The Charity Commission has no formal AI guidance; it expects trustees to apply CC3, while the Fundraising Regulator has detailed AI guidance for fundraising. Knowing which points are Code standards and which are good practice helps boards decide what they must do now.

Part of: AI in Charities and trustees

In short

Two bodies have spoken on AI in charities in England and Wales. The Charity Commission's blog of 2 April 2024 says trustees remain responsible for AI-assisted decisions, should make independent checks, keep human oversight and consider an internal AI policy; it does not plan formal AI guidance. The Fundraising Regulator's AI guidance, updated 8 December 2025, asks for a published AI policy, risk assessments, transparency proportionate to the risk of misleading donors, human oversight and board-level oversight. That guidance helps charities meet the Code of Fundraising Practice but is not Code text. Existing Code standards and legal duties already apply to AI use.

Two bodies, two approaches

The Charity Commission regulates registered charities in England and Wales and publishes the core trustee guidance. The Fundraising Regulator is the independent self-regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and sets the Code of Fundraising Practice. The Commission has chosen not to write AI-specific guidance. The Fundraising Regulator has written detailed guidance, but only for fundraising. Data protection sits with the ICO.

The Charity Commission blog (2 April 2024)

The Commission's Charities and artificial intelligence blog is its published statement on AI. Its key points:

Use AI responsibly and to further the charity's purposes, weighing benefits and risks against trustee duties.
"Trustees remain responsible for decision making." Relying on AI-generated advice for a critical decision without reasonable independent checks may breach trustee duties, and decisions should not be handed over to AI.
Keep human oversight to catch material errors.
Generative AI can be inaccurate, plagiarised, copyright-infringing or biased, and is not reliable enough for accurate legal advice.
Data security under GDPR is a key risk; take extra care with children, vulnerable beneficiaries and medical data.
Misuse of AI content, such as fake news and deepfakes, creates reputational risk.
Consider an internal AI policy covering governance, staff use and service delivery.

Why the Commission has no formal AI guidance

The blog says the Commission does not plan specific new AI guidance and that trustees should apply existing guidance to the new technology. As at October 2026 that remained the position, and no CC-series publication on AI had been found. In practice that means reading CC3, The essential trustee (last updated 16 September 2026) with AI in mind:

s.8: reasonable care and skill, "taking advice when necessary". This is the basis for independent checks on AI output.
s.9.3: trustees remain collectively responsible for delegated decisions; high-risk decisions should generally not be delegated.
s.5.3: equality, data protection and copyright law apply to all charities.
s.6.4: conflicts of interest, including AI suppliers connected to a trustee.

The Fundraising Regulator AI guidance (8 December 2025)

The Guidance for using artificial intelligence in fundraising covers:

Accountability for the charity's own AI use, AI use by third-party fundraisers and all AI-generated output.
Policy: agree an AI policy before using AI in fundraising, publish it on your website and review it regularly.
Risk assessment: proportionate, before using any AI tool.
Data protection: know how each tool uses, stores and shares data; cover AI in the privacy notice; keep non-public information out of publicly available tools.
Transparency: the greater the risk of misleading donors, "the more transparent you should be", including for AI sound, video and images that could be mistaken for real people or situations.
Human oversight of chatbots, voicebots and automated fundraising decisions.
Trustees make strategic AI decisions, and AI understanding should not sit with only one or two of them.
Third parties: contractors, professional fundraisers and commercial participators, with content credentials suggested where proportionate.

Code standards versus good practice

Document	Date	Status
Charity Commission AI blog	2 April 2024	Blog post, not formal guidance
CC3, The essential trustee	Updated 16 September 2026	Core Commission guidance on trustee duties
CC49, Charities and insurance	Updated 20 August 2026	Commission guidance on insurance, including TII and PI
Fundraising Regulator AI guidance	Updated 8 December 2025	Guidance to help meet the Code; not Code text
Code of Fundraising Practice (revised)	Effective 1 November 2025	Code standards, applying to complaints received on or after that date
UK GDPR Arts 22A to 22D	In force 5 February 2026	Law

Existing Code standards apply to AI-enabled fundraising, so an AI-written appeal is judged against the same standards as any other (see the 2025 table of changes). The AI guidance explains how to meet them. Trustee duties under charity law, and data protection law, apply whether or not any guidance mentions AI.

What it means in practice and for cover

For most boards the practical list is short: an AI policy (published if it covers fundraising), a risk assessment for each tool, human checks before output is relied on, and minutes showing trustees oversaw it. Those steps are also the evidence a defence would rely on if trustees faced a breach-of-duty claim.

Under Charities Act 2011 s.189, trustee indemnity or charity D&O cannot cover fines or regulatory penalties, so an ICO fine following an AI data breach stays with the charity. Defence costs for some investigations may be covered, depending on the wording. Charities using AI to give advice should read CC49 on PI. Our charity insurance guide explains the wider programme, and the AI policy guide sets out what a policy should contain.

Watch list

Whether the Commission moves from its blog to formal AI guidance or a CC3 update.
Any Fundraising Regulator follow-up on AI, including Code changes.
The ICO's final guidance on automated decision-making under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025; its consultation closed on 29 May 2026.

How Apex helps

Apex arranges trustee indemnity, D&O and PI for charities, and a broker can check how your policy would respond to a regulator's inquiry or a complaint linked to AI use. Start with the charities Aipedia hub.

Sources

Frequently asked

Is the Fundraising Regulator AI guidance binding?

It is guidance to help charities meet the Code of Fundraising Practice, not Code text. The Code's existing standards already apply to AI-enabled fundraising, so a misleading AI appeal can breach the Code whether or not the guidance was followed.

Will the Charity Commission publish AI guidance?

Its 2024 blog said it does not plan specific new AI guidance and expects trustees to apply existing guidance. As at October 2026 no Commission AI guidance had been found. Whether that changes is on the watch list.

Do charities have to publish an AI policy?

The Fundraising Regulator's guidance says charities should agree an AI policy before using AI in fundraising and publish it on their website. The Commission's blog says charities should consider an internal AI policy covering governance, staff use and service delivery.

Does this apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

The Commission's blog applies to charities it regulates in England and Wales. The Fundraising Regulator covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Charities in Scotland and Northern Ireland should check their own charity regulator's position, which is not covered here.

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Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information about how AI is used in the profession and how insurance may respond. It is not legal, regulatory or insurance advice on your circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.