Charity Campaigning: Shaping Policy, Influencing Change 

Charities and grassroots organisations are navigating an increasingly challenging landscape defined by rising hostility, competing policy priorities, and widening socio-economic inequalities both at home and abroad. Yet many of the challenges facing communities today are not incidental; they are the direct consequence of policy decisions. From the two-child benefit limit deepening child poverty, to punitive changes in the asylum system compounding hardship for refugees, to cuts in social care funding leaving disabled and elderly people without adequate support, government policy is often the root cause of the very crises charities are left to respond to. In this context, charities cannot afford to work solely within the confines of their frontline services; they must also engage with the political environment that shapes the problems they exist to solve. 

Against this backdrop, MCF delivered our ‘Influencing Change’ masterclass in Manchester last week, a full-day programme designed to equip organisations with the skills, confidence, and insights needed for effective campaigning. 

As political dynamics shift both locally and nationally, civil society engagement with decision-makers has become critical for amplifying community needs and voices within policy spaces. When approached systematically, campaigning enables organisations to address the structural causes of the challenges facing the communities they serve, rather than simply managing their symptoms. Charities of all sizes are therefore capable of influencing change when their campaigning is evidence-based, built on meaningful stakeholder relationships, and aligned with their charitable objectives. Far from being a peripheral activity, campaigning can be one of the most effective ways charities fulfil their charitable purpose. 

The strategic power of campaigning 

Strategic, purposeful campaigning remains one of the most effective tools available to charities seeking to shape public policy. The ‘All Kids Count’ campaign, led by the End Child Poverty Coalition, is a primary example. Through coordinated action by more than 130 organisations, the campaign successfully pressured government to abolish the two-child benefit limit – a policy that removed Universal Credit support for third and subsequent children, affecting 1.6 million children and driving hundreds of thousands across the country into poverty. 

With the government abolishing the policy in April 2026, the campaign demonstrates how coalition-building, evidence-driven research, and sustained political engagement with both parliamentarians and local authorities can shift national policy. Crucially, grassroots organisations can contribute lived experiences of affected communities, which humanises the consequences of a given policy and strengthens a campaign’s legitimacy and emotional impact. This underscores that campaigning is most effective when charities unify around a shared objective and work collaboratively to influence change. 

Campaigning in a challenging environment 

However, charities are operating an increasingly hostile and volatile environment that directly affects their ability to campaign. Research released by the Charity Commission this week found that one in four charities are being directly affected by social divisions, particularly those promoting human rights, religious and racial harmony, and equality or diversity. The Sheila McKechnie Foundation’s Hope in Collaboration report similarly described 2025 as the “toughest year yet” for charity campaigners, with 69% of respondents expressing this sentiment. Rising threats, including online harassment, vandalism, intimidation of staff and volunteers, and heightened regulatory scrutiny, reflect broader polarisation across political and public life.  

This hostility is not incidental. Left unchallenged, it fuels the political conditions that produce regressive policy, from welfare restrictions to punitive asylum measures. At the same time, organisations face a shrinking civic space, underscored by government proposals to expand the Charity Commission’s powers to close organisations accused of harbouring ‘extremism’.These realities require charities to be more cognisant of risk, ensuring robust mechanisms to safeguard staff, trustees, and beneficiaries while maintaining relevancy through their campaigning work. 

Yet, this challenging context makes campaigning even more essential for protecting the democratic space within which civil society organisations operate. Without active engagement with decision-makers, harmful narratives risk becoming entrenched and more widespread, shaping public discourse and in turn influencing policy in ways that further marginalise communities – including Muslims, refugees, and other groups frequently targeted by hateful rhetoric. Passivity allows hostile actors to dominate the public sphere, which only reinforces structural inequalities. In this environment, solidarity becomes a strategic necessity rather than a symbolic gesture. Prioritising allyship through joint advocacy across civil society is crucial to strengthening resilience, challenging hostile actors, and preserving the sector’s collective voice. 

Charity law and good governance 

Campaigning can be an effective means by which a charity furthers its charitable purpose. Although charity law does not permit an organisation to exist for political reasons, charities may engage in political activity if their trustees can demonstrate that doing so advances the organisation’s charitable objectives. For example, a charity established to prevent or relieve poverty may provide financial assistance or run a food bank for individuals and families affected by the cost-of-living crisis. Alongside delivering frontline services, it may also campaign for legislative changes such as the abolition of the two-child benefit limit or the introduction of more comprehensive government support for vulnerable households. As this is directed towards alleviating poverty, it falls squarely within the organisation’s charitable remit and complements its on-the-ground work. 
 
Viewed in this way, campaigning can be understood as an important aspect of good charity governance. It enables trustees to pursue charitable objectives not only by addressing immediate needs but by advocating for long-term solutions to systemic issues. Effective campaigning can also strengthen the charity’s public credibility by demonstrating its commitment to tackling the underlying causes of problems rather than merely responding to their consequences. It can raise public awareness, inform meaningful debate, and help build support for policy reforms that bring lasting benefits to communities. Therefore, campaigning serves not only as a means of advancing a charity’s objectives, but as a mechanism for influencing sustainable change. 

Charities should not exist merely to respond to problems; they should play an active role in addressing their underlying causes. Purposeful campaigning can deliver long-term benefits for affected communities and strengthen the sector’s collective impact. In today’s polarised climate, this approach is not only valuable but vital to safeguard the long-term role of civil society as a cornerstone of our democratic fabric. MCF encourages charities of all sizes to consider campaigning on the issues that matter to them and to download the ‘Influencing Change’ handbook as a practical toolkit for doing so. With vision, strategy, and purpose, organisations can become the vehicles of change they aspire to see.