Fundraising complaints concerning community interest companies (CICs) have risen, according to new figures, prompting a call for stronger regulation.
Today, the Fundraising Regulator (FR) reported that 18% (73) of all “in-remit” complaints it received in the year to August 2025 (387) were about CICs rather than registered charities.
This compares to 54 (12%) complaints about CICs out of the 455 received by the regulator overall in the year to March 2024.
In 2024-25, 15% of the CIC-related complaints concerned Inside Success and We R Blighty, both of which have been found in breach of the regulator’s code of practice.
The regulator’s chief executive Gerald Oppenheim expressed concern about the figures.
“A small minority [of CICs] appear to be taking advantage of the looser regulatory standards to which they are subject to engage in poor fundraising practice that erodes public trust and damages charities,” he said.
“It also clearly shows the need for stronger regulation.”
A spokesperson for the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies said it was working closely with the FR to tackle the problems posed by a “small number” of organisations.
“We are committed to ensuring CICs meet the requirements of the CIC legislation and encourage them to comply with the law in all their activities.”
In 2024-25, the CIC regulator received 36 complaints but did not launch any formal investigations.
Last year, the former government proposed merging the CIC Regulator, which oversees over 37,000 social enterprises, with Companies House.
Complaints rise for charity bags and door-to-door fundraising
Across all 387 complaints within the FR’s remit, repeated contact was the joint top complaint category, more than doubling year-on-year to 56 in 2024-25.
Most of these (29) concerned charity bags, while 17 related to addressed mail.
An additional 25 complaints were received about “no charity bag” signs being ignored.
Misleading information complaints was the other joint-top category, rising by 22% to 56 in 2024-25.
In terms of fundraising methods, charity bags or clothing banks remained the most complained about (58), which decreased from the year before (67).
The same number of complaints (58) were recorded for collections, a slight decrease from 2023-24, and were largely linked to one-off street donations including issues related to some CICs.
Face-to-face fundraising complaints increased by 56% to 39 in 2024-25 and were “mainly associated with door-to-door fundraising, including the sign-up of donors to direct debits”.
Reshard Auladin, chair of the FR’s complaints and investigations committee, said the report was “vital” amid a sustained increase in casework and public engagement.
Auladin said: “It highlights the importance of robust, independent regulation in identifying issues early, responding to concerns, and helping to uphold public confidence in fundraising activity.
“We continue to work hard to maintain the highest standards in charitable fundraising […] so the public can give with confidence.”
