The Chartered Institute of Fundraising offers free membership to small charities, helping them access valuable resources, training, and a supportive fundraising network.
At the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, we understand the importance of the role that small charities play in our civil society.
We also appreciate that by their very nature, small charities have limited resources and staff, challenges made ever greater by the cost of living crisis and fluctuations in giving trends.
We are here to help by offering charities with an annual voluntary income of £50,000 or less free organisational membership of the Chartered Institute.
If you work in a small charity, you're probably used to doing a lot with very little. Fundraising without a big team, a training budget, or much time to spare is the everyday reality for many fundraisers, and it's not getting any easier.
We want to make learning and professional development easier to access, especially for fundraisers in small charities, which is why the Chartered Institute of Fundraising offers free organisational membership to eligible small charities.
It's our way of making sure that the size of your budget doesn't limit access to the support, resources, and community that every fundraising professional deserves.
If your charity has an annual voluntary income of £50,000 or less, you qualify for free organisational membership of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising.
There’s no catch – it’s our organisational membership and all the benefits that it brings – for you, for free.
Organisational membership means that every fundraiser in your team gets access to CIOF's full range of member benefits — not just the person who signs up. Here's what that looks like in practice:
We know that small charities are often where some of the most important work in the sector happens — and we know that limited resources can make it hard to invest in the kind of professional development that helps fundraisers do their jobs well and build sustainable careers.
Free membership is our commitment to changing that. When small charity fundraisers have access to the same quality of support, learning, and community as those in larger organisations, the whole sector benefits.
Applying is straightforward, just click the button below and fill in the form.
If you're not sure whether your charity qualifies, or you have any questions before applying, get in touch — we're happy to help.
Organisational membership with the Chartered Institute of Fundraising helps charities and fundraising teams strengthen their fundraising through expert guidance, training, insight and sector advocacy.
Membership gives your charity access to trusted resources, professional development opportunities and a collective voice to champion ethical, effective fundraising across the UK.
When your organisation joins as a member, it provides access to all the benefits for every member of your fundraising team.
