The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) distributed its highest-ever amount of £1.2bn to charities on behalf of individuals and businesses in its last financial year, despite a year of “economic volatility and geopolitical uncertainty” for the charities it supports.
One of the largest charities in the UK by income, CAF distributed £1.23bn to charities around the UK and the world in 2024-25, compared to £1.16bn the previous year.
Private and corporate clients in the UK, US and Canada entrusted more than £1.34bn to CAF last year. These contributions increased by £188m compared to the previous year.
For the year ending 30 April 2025, CAF Bank, owned by the charity, increased its loans – for the second consecutive year – by £41.5m, “following continuing demand for registered housing associations in particular”, according to the trustees’ report for 2024-25.
The report added that “although the economic environment remains challenging, committed loans and advances to customers continued to grow in 2024-25, rising from £255m as at 30 April 2024 to £283m as at 30 April 2025."
Neil Heslop, chief executive of CAF, said in the trustees’ report’s opening statement: “That this is a record year for CAF is heartening. But philanthropy and charitable giving have never been more needed.
“Against a backdrop of global political and economic uncertainty, retrenchment in international aid and other fiscal constraints, securing greater and more impactful philanthropy — and its encouragement — is now essential.”
Annual income increased to new highs
Despite a turbulent financial year for the sector, CAF’s annual income increased again from £1.19bn last year to £1.39bn this year, marking “another record year”, the report said.
CAF’s record £1.22bn expenditure meanwhile, included around £1.14bn donations payable to charities, while around £92m was marked as “other expenditure on charitable activities”.
The charity’s restricted funds also increased to £1.99bn, a £14m increase on 2023-24’s total of £1.85bn.
The report noted that “despite the increased market volatility in the latter months of 2024-25”, CAF’s financial investments benefited from gains of £16.4m, a decrease on 2024’s gains of £73.5m.
However, this still contributed to their aggregate market value rising to £1.04bn at 30 April 2025, with total assets growing from £1.87bn to just over £2bn.
Meanwhile, CAF’s unrealised mark-to-market loss on bond holdings was down by £15.9m, from £23.4m on 30 April 2024 to £7.5m on 30 April 2025.
Staff costs and numbers increase
CAF group’s staff costs – which includes the charity, CAF bank and other trading subsidiaries – increased this year, rising from £43.2m in 2024 to £49.8m in 2025.
This was largely attributable to salaries and wages for the group increasing from £35.9m in 2024 to £40.7m in 2025.
There was also an increase in the average number of full-time and part-time employees in the group, from 734 in 2024 to 768 in 2025, while the number of full-time equivalent employees also increased from 709 to 741.
More recently, some charities which are customers of CAF Bank having reported that they were considering switching banks over "persistent problems" with some of its newly updated services.
