Reticence around being “dragged into” culture-war issues is hindering charities’ response to serious threats posed by the far right, a new report has warned.
The research published this week, which surveyed people involved with 55 UK-based NGOs with incomes above £100,000 – three-quarters of them charities – finds over half view the rise of far-right authoritarianism as an existential threat.
The participants’ organisations varied in terms of size, mission and focus, including those dealing primarily with local, national and international issues.
The report, Towards Meaningful Action, follows concerns raised by sector umbrella body NCVO that charities’ employees, volunteers and beneficiaries are feeling “increasingly unsafe” amid a climate of increasing social division.
In February, the chief executive of Freedom from Torture told Civil Society the charity was “haemorrhaging money” into security measures, with some employees “scared to come to work”, amid anti-refugee sentiment.
In October 2025, a group of sector leaders wrote to prime minister Keir Starmer, warning over the increasing abuse faced by charity workers.
Meanwhile, the names of some organisations’ trustees have been removed from Charity Commission records because of potential safety risks.
Multifaceted range of risks facing charities
Around three-quarters of respondents to the new research reported that the current political context had “very significant” or “some serious” negative effects on their organisations’ mission and the communities they work with.
The report describes a “multifaceted” and interlinked range of risks facing NGOs, complicating responses.
They include those in power adopting authoritarian positions and policies, an increase in “street fascism” and racist hatred and the normalisation of narratives promoting prejudice and discrimination.
It adds some organisations had “cultures of timidity” and “perhaps naturally” a sense that the best way to continue operating is to “keep your head down”.
The report notes that perceptions of and responses to threat vary considerably based on factors including NGOs’ mission, size and operating context.
“For around a third of survey respondents working in charities, the belief that ‘charitable law around political impartiality prevents us taking a position’ tended to prevail or was dominant,” it says.
The report warns that being “currently unaffected or distanced from the frontline of conflict” is no guarantee against future exposure, citing examples such as attacks on the National Trust from some sections of right-wing media.
Enabling effective responses
The research identifies several factors that, if addressed, could help organisations respond more effectively and decisively.
These include access to examples of good practice, the establishment of clear “red lines” that, if crossed, lead to action, and developing safety protocols, which a quarter of survey respondents lacked.
The study also notes that some charities’ boards – especially in larger organisations – took threats less seriously than operational staff, acting as a brake on action.
It identifies a “strong interest” among participants in networking and collective strategising.
“There’s clearly a huge demand for networking and spaces to discuss how to respond to the challenges of the moment and to explore collaboration to step into them together,” co-author Natasha Adams told Civil Society.
