Speech by Charity Commission CX to Association of Charitable Foundations conference

Speech by David Holdsworth, Chief Executive Officer of the Charity Commission, to the Association of Charitable Foundations conference 2025

Foundations for the Future: Purpose, Patience and Possibility

Thank you for inviting me to close this conference. You've heard from a fantastic array of speakers, exploring critical questions about how to future proof foundations. 

Let me begin by painting a picture of the current landscape of the sector.

The charity sector manages around £100 billion of annual income  which on the face of it shows at a high level - sector income is stable - but this high level figure masks underlying disparity in annual incomes across a diverse sector. Our most recent data also revealed that charities are supporting three times as many people than they were five years ago, whilst facing increased financial pressures. And the ACF's recent Foundations in Focus report revealed grant application volume increases of 100-400%.

We're also seeing increasing complexity in social challenges – polarising views around cultural and societal issues; vitriol rather than discussion and constructive debate.

Then there's technology. AI and digital transformation present exciting opportunities, but also risks that must be managed. We're aware some of you are seeing more and more AI-generated funding requests – our registrations team sees it too with all the benefits and risks that poses.

Alongside this, there's demographic change – ageing populations in some areas, growing diversity in others. Geographic disparities. Generational shifts in expectations around participation, transparency,  and accountability.

So it is no secret that the sector is currently facing extraordinary challenges. You carry a significant responsibility and the Commission is mindful of the weight you feel upon your shoulders.

But here's what I want you to hold onto. I believe that in times of challenge come the best opportunities.

And the UK's foundations – over 12,000 of them – are uniquely equipped for this very moment.

As I've been reflecting on foundations and what you represent, I have been thinking of an ancient oak.

Oaks can live for a thousand years. They weather storms that would fell younger trees. Their root systems run deep – sometimes three times the width of their canopy – drawing on resources others cannot reach.

They provide shelter and sustenance for entire ecosystems.

And crucially, they grow slowly, patiently, with a timescale that transcends any single generation.

This is what foundations do. You are the ancient oaks of our charitable landscape.

Your roots run deep into history - into founding intent, into endowments that represent someone's belief that problems can be solved, difficult causes can be championed, even if it takes generations.

And like those ancient oaks, foundations have a unique capacity to tackle issues at the root – the deep, complex problems that others cannot reach.

The challenges that require patience, strategic thinking, and the freedom to take risks.

Consider the repeal of the Vagrancy Act – a piece of legislation that had criminalised rough sleeping and begging for around 200 years.

For two centuries, this law shaped how we treated our most vulnerable citizens. Its repeal didn't happen overnight.

It required sustained advocacy, research, coalition-building, and the patience to pursue change across parliaments and changing governments.

Foundations played a crucial role in making that change possible – funding the research, supporting the advocacy organisations, taking the long view when others could not.

Last year alone, foundations spent over £8.2 billion across a vast range of causes. The London Marathon Foundation invested in projects getting over 560,000 children and young people active – tackling childhood inactivity at its root. The Oceans Family Foundation spent over £400,000 conserving our marine environment, including beach cleans removing hundreds of kilos of waste from Solent shores – addressing pollution at source. The Road Safety Trust awarded over £2.2 million in grants, including funding virtual reality hazard perception testing for tractor drivers – preventing accidents through innovation.

These are just a handful of examples from thousands making a difference every day – sometimes in ways that seem small, sometimes on an extraordinary scale, but always with the depth and patience that characterises foundations' unique contribution.

Those who've heard me speak before will know I often point to the long history of charitable giving in the UK – and I do so not just for reassurance, but because it tells us something important. Charities have not only survived periods of profound uncertainty, they've been reinvigorated through them by innovation and agility.

But foundations represent something even more profound. Every foundation arose, at its core - like trusteeship itself - from an act of radical optimism.

Think about what it means to establish a foundation. Someone – whether an individual, a family, a company, or a community – makes a decision that defies short-term thinking. They say: “This problem matters so much that I'm going to dedicate resources to solving it not just today, but for generations I will never meet.” They plant an oak knowing they'll never sit in its shade.

In a world where it seems instant gratification, short termism and quarterly results dominate thinking, where social media rewards immediate reactions, where problems can feel overwhelming and intractable – you choose to be steady and thoughtful. You choose to believe that deep-rooted problems can be solved. You choose to invest in solutions that may take decades to bear fruit. You choose impact over immediacy, strategic distance over reactive response, solving root causes over addressing symptoms.

That is extraordinary. It is radical. And it demonstrates grounded optimism that sees the long arc and commits to bending it.

So what does this mean in practice? What is this unique power I keep referencing?

You exist at the intersection of legacy and innovation – bridging past intent with future need. Unlike operational charities responding to immediate demand, you have the privilege and responsibility of strategic distance. Patient capital that can take risks others cannot. Grants made consistent with achieving your charitable purposes, but with the freedom to fund innovation, core costs, and long-term capacity building.

You have the ability, using your deep roots, to weather the storms that would fell others, to shelter from the storms those not yet strong enough to weather them on their own to fund currently unpopular causes or test untested approaches, with longevity and enduring impact in mind. You can convene, catalyse partnerships, and amplify impact beyond the cheque.

You have purpose, patience and possibility.

As regulator, I want you to hold onto your unique power. This power, guided by your core purposes, is your strength. The deep roots that will see not just you through storms but all those who need to shelter under the mighty oak until they are strong enough to weather the storms.

A word of caution: protect and tend to the roots and you will continue to grow new branches

So you have strong roots that enable you to continue to adapt, to grow new branches. You have throughout history enabled our society to improve for those most marginalised those with the quietest voices or the causes that are unpopular in the society of the day. You have been the mighty oak at the centre of the ecosystem supporting it to adapt and thrive.

Which brings me to something I feel compelled to address. There's a growing conversation – frankly what feels like a pressure – around modernising foundations, often described as democratising them. Around ceding power to beneficiaries and communities, flattening hierarchies, and fundamentally restructuring how foundations are governed. This is, I know, grounded in a well-intentioned desire to continue to adapt to improve the very ecosystem around you to enable it to thrive.

But I want to say something that might be unfashionable. Be very thoughtful before you give away all of your foundation's power. Be very thoughtful in ensuring you grow new branches rather than damaging the very roots that enable you to weather the storms. And be there for not just today's beneficiaries but tomorrow's - and that would enable future generations to sit in the shade and enjoy the better future your canopy provided.

I'm not suggesting foundations should be disconnected or indifferent. Quite the opposite. The best foundations are those that are engaged with their beneficiaries and deeply embedded in their communities. They consult widely, they listen carefully, and they design their work shaped by lived experience and genuine engagement with those they seek to help.

The Commission as regulator will not stand in the way of considered changes – as I have said, we are an enabling body. We will only intervene where there are legal or regulatory concerns, where charitable purposes have been forgotten or overlooked.

But charitable objects should not be treated as a historical curiosity – they are a legal and moral axis upon which to navigate. They are your roots.

Foundations exist because someone, perhaps centuries ago, perhaps in living memory, made a decision to dedicate resources to a specific purpose. Whether that be education or healthcare, national or for a particular geographic community. That choice created a guiding mission that transcends any individual trustee or any particular moment in time.

The Commission was established in 1853 not merely to regulate charities, but to protect the very idea and intent of charity. To ensure that what one generation gives in dedication to public benefit, future generations honour, with appropriate reinterpretations for their times. This encourages new generations to give, new generations to invest in making the world a better place for everyone. It is our generation's duty to ensure that the legacy of philanthropic and charitable endeavour we inherited, and benefited from, burns as brightly for future generations.

This isn't about looking back. It's about looking inward. Recognising what your foundation represents. In some cases, change is necessary to remain relevant. Done right, you can honour intent even when adapting to necessary change. However, if change is a response to pressure, then stop and ask yourself: will it stay true to your charitable purpose? Will your choice stand years from now?

Like that ancient oak, you can grow new branches, adapt to changing climates, provide shelter in new ways – but if you sever your roots, you lose what makes you capable of weathering storms that would fell younger trees.

And remember: There is strength in collaboration, whether that's with government, community groups or with each other. Formal partnerships or informal knowledge sharing. Recent research has revealed that beneath the forest floor, trees are connected through vast fungal networks, sharing nutrients and supporting one another to thrive. Like those hidden root connections, our strongest foundations are often built through collaboration we don't always see. The way the ACF has brought us all together today is testament to that.

I believe the Commission, too, has a unique insight and role. We stand where charity, government, philanthropy and public perspectives meet. A priority of mine since becoming Chief Executive has been to demonstrate that alongside being a robust regulator, we also utilise our enabling and convening power.

We are, if you will, the foresters who tend the conditions that allow ancient oaks to thrive.

What does this mean in practice?

We provide guidance that empowers trustees to make confident decisions. The most pertinent for you will probably be our donations guidance published last year. This made clear that the starting point should be to accept donations, and sent out a message that philanthropists should not fear rejection, and our sector should feel empowered.

Knowing the sector is well regulated will inspire the confidence philanthropists, at home and abroad, need to invest in the UK's enduring charitable spirit.

We use our authority to convene conversations that matter – bringing together philanthropists, charities, government, and communities.

We defend charities' right to operate within the law, even when their work is contentious.

We do enable charities to modernise - as we did with the Sir David Percival Foundation, where our permission teams work enabled a donation £1bn of Chinese ceramics to the British Museum for millions to enjoy, whilst preserving the original charitable intent and public benefit.

And we will support trustees' decisions where you can evidence your decision-making and where it follows key principles – namely that you've considered the charity's best interests, and have kept your purposes in sight.

I will leave you with some final thoughts.

I've set out a horizon in which challenge and opportunity are two sides of the same coin. Foundations are uniquely equipped for this moment.

You can be future-proof without erasing the past. When foundations operate with integrity and impact, they strengthen the entire ecosystem.

The theme of today's conference – resilient, relevant, ready – these aren't just aspirational words but a call to action. A call to remember that you are:

Resilient – because you have deep roots, resources, expertise, and the benefit of long-term perspective. You are ancient oaks built to weather storms.

Relevant – when you stay true to purpose whilst adapting to changing contexts, honouring legacy whilst addressing contemporary need. Growing new branches whilst maintaining your roots.

Ready – because you have the freedom, the responsibility, the evidence and tools to make extraordinary impact.

The Commission stands ready to enable, support, and when necessary defend your work.

I hope you leave here today inspired, as I know I am – inspired by those mighty oaks, in this room and beyond, whose roots run deep and whose branches provide shelter for generations to come.