Charity leaders will face a bulging in-tray in 2026 as they navigate another challenging year.

For many, tough decisions around staffing levels and service delivery will need to be taken.

Understandably running a charity amid escalating costs, surging demand and reduced funding will dominate charity leaders’ thoughts in 2026, but there are still a raft of other priorities that will demand attention.

Many of these, such as around improving diversity and green commitments, have arguably been put off for too long in recent years.

The spectre of staff burnout also remains. Efforts to boost employee wellbeing will be vital in the coming year to improve workforce retention rates, especially among those already in stressful frontline roles.

There are political challenges too, with many charity leaders left frustrated by the Labour administration since it took power in 2024.

Effective lobbying of Labour ministers, as well as among the UK’s increasing multi-party system, nationally and locally, will be needed.

Reversing the post-pandemic exodus of older volunteers will also be a priority.

In addition, leaders need to ensure they are tackling threats, as well as opportunities of using artificial intelligence technology.

Here we look at some of the top issues charity leaders are likely to face in 2026.

Make tough financial choices

Charities’ finances have been hit hard in recent years and 2026 looks set to be no different.

The cumulation of Covid lockdowns, the cost-of-living crisis, dwindling government funding, and 2025's hike in employers’ National Insurance contributions, alongside increasing demand for support, means that tough choices will need to be taken.

Already in recent months several major charities have been forced to enact significant staff cuts.

In October the National Trust confirmed it will lose 500 employers as it looks to make savings amid “sustained cost pressures that are affecting many charities”.

In the same month NSPCC confirmed one in seven roles are to be cut as part of a restructure to “confront economic challenges head on”.

Charity leaders are also likely to deliberate on reducing services in 2026.

Among those to already make this tough choice is Samaritans, which during the summer of 2025 revealed that its 200-branch structure “is not sustainable”, especially as its spending has outstripped its income for the last three years.

Another option that is set to land on charity leaders’ desks is to sell sites and properties.

Wild Planet Trust is among charities those to do this, when in 2025 it sold the two zoos it runs, in Newquay and Paignton, to a Dutch leisure company.

Diversifying income streams is another option to consider, so charities do not only rely on precarious sources such as government funding.

Mergers may also be under consideration for some, Eastside People’s 2025 Good Merger Index said that “mounting financial pressures” are already causing a spike in charities coming together.

Sadly, it looks inevitable that in 2026 some charity leaders may face the toughest choice of all, to close.

A survey by Cadent and Thinks Insight Strategy published in September 2025 found that more than half of charities fear they may no longer be operating in the next five years.

Those to make the difficult decision to close in 2025 due to financial problems include sailing charity Challenge Wales, Bloody Good Period, Mental Health Aberdeen, male victims of abuse charity Dads Unlimited and Home-Start Dundee.

Prevent staff burnout

Increasing demand for support is already taking its toll on the mental health of charity staff.

Leaders are urged to invest in staff wellbeing to prevent burnout among a stretched workforce.

Those working in frontline social care and support roles are particularly vulnerable. A survey published in September 2025 found that many working in such roles feel “overwhelmed by the emotional demands of the work”.

Also, in 2025 a survey by homelessness charity St Martin in the Fields warned that more than half of workers in the housing support sector “feel at risk of burnout”.

Strategies to help staff, include avoiding overloading them with excessive responsibilities, caseloads and deadlines.

Encouraging staff to take more breaks and ensure mental health support, such as counselling, is accessible, are other moves charities can consider. Offering gym memberships and encouraging healthy eating are others.

Charities can also consider adopting four-day weeks to improve employees’ work-life balance. Mental Health Foundation adopted this strategy in 2025 following a year long pilot where seven in ten staff reported less work-related stress.

Tackle slow progress on leadership diversity

Improving diversity on charity boards and among senior executives continues to be a struggle.

In 2025 The Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) found that just 6% of trustees at foundations are from communities experiencing racial inequality.

While there has been some improvement since 2018, when a mere 1% of trustees were from such backgrounds, foundation boards are “still lagging behind” the corporate sector, where 19% of board members have these characteristics, warns its chief executive Carol Mack.

The ACF also found recruitment of younger trustees over the last six years has worsened and there has been little improvement in recruiting women onto boards.

This lack of progress on diversity is across the charity sector.

One in five Women in Charity Network members surveyed in 2025 said the number one issue they face at work is lack of career progression.

In September the Sutton Trust revealed that more than a third of charity chief executives attended a private school and one in five went onto Oxbridge.

Meanwhile, a report released in April by the Charity Commission and think tank PBE found that diversity of charity boards is failing to represent the general population.

Also, during 2025 a report by charity membership body Acevo and consultancy Eastside People found that one in four charities do not have any Black, Asian or other global majority communities represented across their senior leadership team or board.

It is no wonder that ensuring there is “inclusive boardroom culture, practices and behaviours” is among priorities for trustees in 2025’s update of the Charity Governance Code.

Perhaps 2026 could finally be the year where charity leaders finally make significant improvements?

Funder Henry Smith Foundation certainly hopes so. In December 2025 it announced it is funding four organisations, Reach Volunteering, Board Racial Diversity UK, the Young Trustees Movement and the Association of Chair, to help the sector’s boards be more diverse.

Anticipate policy shifts in a multi-party age

Charities that struggled to influence policy under previous Conservative and coalition governments had high hopes they would have a greater say under Labour’s administration following its general election victory in 2024.

But while there has been a greater emphasis on economic growth, planning reform, green energy, renters’ rights and health investment, there has also been a frustrating lack of action on support for many charity beneficiaries, in particular pensioners, asylum seekers and children impacted by poverty.

A survey of charity leaders by Lucent Consultancy in 2025 suggests there is considerable scope for the sector to improve its relationship with Labour during 2026.

This found that charities have been left frustrated by “contradictions and incoherence” from ministers, as well as “regressive, damaging rhetoric”, particularly on immigration issues.

Labour’s poor performance in the polls, including being overtaken by Reform UK and The Green Party at points during 2025, also means charity lobbyists need to seek to influence a wider cohort of politicians.

Local lobbying amid this rise of multi-party politics is also important, especially with Reform taking control of 10 councils following 2025’s local government elections, and The Green Party now with almost 1,000 councillors.

The government’s Civil Society Covenant, which commits ministers and civil servants to liaise with the sector, should in theory help charity lobbyists on the national stage. However, time will tell how much influence charity leaders will truly have.

Navigate local government reorganisation

Not only is the political make up of town and county halls different, following increased support for Reform and the Green Party, but so too will be the local authorities themselves from 2026.

Under the government’s local government reorganisation agenda borough and district councils will cease to exist over the next three years. In their place will be larger unitary authorities across England working alongside regional combined authorities.

The National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) says charities need to ensure they “prepare for major shifts in governance and geography, especially if they are used to working with district or county councils”.

Charities could have reason for optimism in navigating reorganisation, as several unitary authority bids made have already highlighted the need to engage with their local voluntary sector.

Revisit environmental commitments

Charities are increasingly looking to ensure their investment portfolios are working for, rather than against, the planet.

A survey of finance leaders in the sector by financial firm Rathbones published in October 2025 found that just under half say their charity has increased its list of barred investments over the last two years, with environmental concerns the top reason for exclusion.

But many warn they lack the confidence to successfully screen out all unethical investments, indicating more work is needed to maintain ethical portfolios.

Further evidence that charities can do more to protect the planet emerged in C&E Advisory’s 2025 corporate non-profit partnerships barometer. This found a decline in the number of firms saying that linking up with charities had helped improve their understanding of environmental and social issues.

The forthcoming 12 months offers charities considerable scope to fine tune and improve on their existing green commitments.

Bring back older volunteers

One of the headline stories in volunteering since the Covid pandemic is the continuing exodus of older volunteers.

Analysis by The Centre for Ageing Better published in October 2025 found 1.16m fewer people aged 50 gave their time for good causes at least a month in 2024 compared to 2019.

Charities are advised to tackle the barriers facing older people looking to volunteers to help boost volunteering.

This includes offering opportunities that consider many older people’s new commitments amid the cost-of-living crisis, such as childcare duties for grandchildren and working longer hours themselves.

Also recommended by the Centre is for charities to work with local authorities to promote “age friendly communities” to ensure there is provision in community planning to ensure older people can contribute more easily.

Charities “should be taking time to listen to their volunteers to understand what the barriers are” and “understand how the framing of volunteering opportunities might be encouraging or discouraging involvement”, says the Centre’s senior evidence manager for research, impact and voice, Aideen Young.

New technology …new threats

The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the sector is set to continue, from increasing use of tools such as ChatGPT in research and content creation to more chatbots to deal with queries from beneficiaries and potential recruits.

But the tech also presents challenges for charity leaders to navigate in 2026, most notably its impact on the job market.

Research this year by PwC commissioned by the Department for Science Innovation and Technology warned of AI’s potential to displace human workers, with around one in five jobs in the UK facing automation over the next decade.

While new tech jobs will undoubtedly be created, AI looks set to increase unemployment and place increasing demand on charity services, as they support more people impacted by poverty.

The lack of entry level roles also means charities could also be starved of new recruits, who one day may be the charity leaders of the future.

How charity leaders look at the bigger picture as they sign off the use of AI across their organisation will be vital in 2026.

This includes ensuring charities' communities are involved in how AI is used. Research published in November found many rarely involve their stakeholders and beneficiaries in such decisions.

Another threat AI poses is in reducing charities’ online visibility, according to a report by marketing and PR firm Tank released this year. This looked at the impact of AI powered online searches and found that charities average monthly organic growth had fallen by 2.5%.

Unless action is taken, charities risk experiencing steeper falls already being experienced by other sectors including hospitality, travel and finance.

Tank advises charities incorporate strategies to ensure they are being found by traditional and AI powered searches. This could include more mention of brand names and increasing use of questions within content, which AI search tools favour over more traditional links.

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