The headlines at the start of 2026 don’t seem to give much cause for optimism for the year ahead.
Global issues mean that the geopolitical and international trade situations remain turbulent. Meanwhile, the domestic political scene remains fractured and divisive over a number of important issues.
These are factors in creating a difficult environment for charities to operate in. In charity news, recent weeks and months have seen sad stories of closures, cutbacks and redundancies.
However, charities continue to evolve and adapt, and there have been some positive headlines.
For example, the latest Third Sector Trends report states that long-term grants are becoming increasingly prevalent.
The percentage of organisations which stated that grantmakers made a long-term investment in their work increased by at least eight percentage points from 2022 to 40% in 2025, with the report noting that “for many years” voluntary sector organisations have complained about the short-term investment they receive from grantmaking foundations.
Unrestricted or core funding had increased from 2019, when 46% stated they received this funding, to 60% in 2022. However, this declined to 56% in 2025.
Between June and September last year, some 8,680 people across England and Wales responded to the survey which also found that charities with annual incomes below £10,000 form 36% of the sector but receive less than 1% of its total funds.
Unrestricted, long-term funding is key for charities to be able to plan ahead and respond flexibly to changing needs and demands.
Of course, it is not just grantmakers that can make substantial donations. In June 2025, it was reported that donor-advised funds increased grantmaking to charities by 20% to £2.1bn in 2023-24. For the same period, funding from trusts and foundations increased by 12% to £8.2bn.
So, while donor-advised funds are not yet as big as grantmakers, they seem to be a growing part of the funding landscape. Therefore, it is important charities understand what they are and whether they need to adapt to the evolving funding world.
For that reason, we have dedicated our cover theme section to them in this edition.
Tristan Blythe is editor of Charity Finance
