Knowledge Hub

Why do banks need to know more about your charity? And how can you help your charity stay protected and compliant? Sarah Tickner from Lloyds Bank explains what you need to know about Ongoing Know Your Customer (OKYC).

Though it has almost become cliche to say, it is still the case that small charities are the backbone of civil society. Across the UK and internationally, they deliver vital services, build communities, and tackle some of the most complex challenges facing people today, often with limited resources and lean teams. During Small Charity Week, we want to shine a light on the organisations and individuals doing this work every day.

The government’s Great British Summer Savings scheme will see VAT temporarily reduced from 20% to 5% on certain children’s meals, family tickets, and days out this summer. This could be a significant boost for charities in the hospitality and leisure sectors, helping to increase demand while potentially reducing cost pressures for parents during the summer holidays.

We appear to be at yet another political inflection point and it remains unclear what direction the country is heading in. Even so, there are a few specific updates worth recapping.

Related party transactions are not new, but under SORP 2026, they have become a litmus test of governance and trust. Recent Charity Commission investigations show what is at stake when relationships go undisclosed and conflicts go unmanaged.

Chief Finance Officer at the For Baby's Sake Trust, trustee for The Children's University Trust and CFG member, Owen Day, is looking to launch a new Special Interest Group for finance trustees. Here, Owen outlines his vision for other members.

Ahead of the CFG’s 2026 conference on Thursday 25 June, here’s a sneak peek at the conversations that Comic Relief and Xledger will have during their speaking session, “Three years on: Lessons from Comic Relief’s digital transformation”.

Ahead of CFG’s Annual Conference 2026, CFG’s Emma Abbott catches up with Sophie Ward from the event’s headline sponsors HSBC Private Bank about what this year’s conference theme, 'Empowering Change, Inspiring Progress', means to her and what charities can do to remain resilient and impactful.

HM Treasury has published its response to consultations on two parts of the UK's SME finance framework: Commercial Credit Data Sharing (CCDS) and the Bank Referral Scheme (BRS). Neither was designed with charities in mind, but both have implications for the sector.

This article from Utility Aid looks at the issue of energy contracts, and argues in favour of longer-term fixed contracts, in order to minimise risk in what is a volatile energy market.

This year's CFG Small Charity Survey aims to understand how small charities are coping with a difficult financial environment. The 2025 survey found that many charities were struggling to cope with increasing demand and rising costs, so we now want to know what, if anything, has changed in the last 12 months.

Carol Rudge from HW Fisher talks about what CFG's 2026 Annual Conference theme – 'Empowering Change, Inspiring Progress' – means to her and her team, and shares why she's excited that HW Fisher are once again supporting the event.