The UK government has unveiled a new roadmap to grow place-based philanthropy, setting out practical steps to increase regional giving and strengthen collaboration between charities, fundraisers, philanthropists and local government. Developed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) with input from sector leaders, the strategy focuses on unlocking high-net-worth giving beyond London and the South East. Through targeted actions such as building local networks, embedding philanthropy in wealth advice, and expanding match-funding opportunities, the roadmap aims to create a more connected and sustainable funding environment for charities across the UK.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has unveiled Our place to give: a roadmap towards growing place-based philanthropy, which outlines the next steps they will take to encourage and enable regional high-net-worth giving.
The Chartered Institute warmly welcomes the roadmap and see it as a crucial next step to creating a supportive infrastructure that harnesses the true value of philanthropy. Having been part of the work group convened by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and Beacon Collaborative that informed it, we were pleased to see that many of our members’ recommendations and ideas were taken forward. Amongst these include the importance of government visibly and vocally championing philanthropy, developing networks to educate philanthropists, and integrating philanthropy into wealth advice.
The roadmap is made up of three pillars designed to help local government, civil society and philanthropists work together to unlock place-based giving, particularly in areas outside of London and the South East. These are underpinned by six actions that DCMS will lead on.
The pillars and actions include:
Action one: Delivering a community of practice for place-based giving initiatives.
This will allow new and existing place-based initiatives to learn from each other through workshops, regular meetings, and targeted resources. The government will also create a map of existing place-based initiatives hosted on the gov.uk website.
Action two: Implementing a ‘think philanthropy’ approach to government place-based funding programmes
Building on the principles of the Civil Society Covenant, DCMS and the recently established Office for the Impact Economy will encourage all government departments engage with philanthropists strategically to achieve their goals. This will include creating more match-funding opportunities to unlock greater philanthropic capital, alongside working more closely with philanthropists to inform policy.
Action three: Convening place-based philanthropy ambassadors
To help foster a ‘think philanthropy culture’ across government, DCMS will formally convene a select group of philanthropists experienced in place-based giving to advise government. The group will initially look at how match-funding can help philanthropists, government and civil society achieve their goals.
Action four: Delivering a shared approach across government to partnering with philanthropists
This will establish principles of best practice to help all departments build meaningful relationships with philanthropists. It will also make use of the new Office for Impact economy who will act as a ‘front door’ for philanthropists looking to work more closely with government.
Action five: Strengthening the provision of philanthropic advice in the financial services sector
DCMS and the Office for the Impact Economy will establish a working group to identify new ways to embed conversations about philanthropy into wealth advice.
Action six: Motivating a celebratory culture of philanthropic giving
DMCS recognises that raising awareness of the positive difference philanthropy makes for communities will encourage more people to give. They are therefore going to develop initiatives that visibly celebrate giving, such as developing a toolkit for MPs to encourage them to use their platforms to celebrate philanthropy within their constituency and partner with celebratory events to highlight the impact of regional philanthropy.
We look forward to continuing to work with DCMS, CAF and the Beacon Collaborative to make the actions in this roadmap a reality. Through already established working groups, we will make sure fundraisers’ voices are heard and future initiatives make it easier for charities to reach and maintain lasting relationships with donors.
On top of this, we will continue to work on the five actions we outlined in the first part of our Philanthropy 2035 research The State of UK Philanthropy, published in December 2025.
If you have any thoughts on how this roadmap or future government projects could help grow giving then we would love to hear them. Please email policy@ciof.org.uk
The Philanthropy 2035 Hub
Our place to give: a road-map towards growing place based philanthropy
