Welcome to the Charities Aid Foundation

We help donors to give more impactfully and charities to build their resilience so they can do more of their life-changing work.

Personal giving From one-off donations to long-term giving, or designing your personal philanthropic strategy, we work together to help you realise your giving ambitions. Corporate giving You have the vision for making a difference. So do we. We help you plan how to give based on your goals. Services for charities Helping your charity or social enterprise become more resilient. Insights Discover the latest insights for donors and charitable organisations to help create a greater impact About us We are a leading charity, working at the centre of the giving world. We help donors to give more impactfully and charities to build their resilience so they can do more of their life-changing work. Donate  
 
 
 

Personal giving

From one-off donations to long-term giving, or designing your personal philanthropic strategy, we work together to help you realise your giving ambitions.

DISCOVER OUR PERSONAL GIVING SOLUTIONS

Corporate giving

You have the vision for making a difference. So do we. We help you plan how to give based on your goals.

DISCOVER OUR CORPORATE GIVING SOLUTIONS

Services for charities

Helping your charity or social enterprise become more resilient.

DISCOVER HOW WE SUPPORT CHARITIES

Insights

Discover the latest insights for donors and charitable organisations to help create a greater impact

Explore

About us

We are a leading charity, working at the centre of the giving world. We help donors to give more impactfully and charities to build their resilience so they can do more of their life-changing work.

Find out more about CAF
CAF DONATE

Help and support

On this page you’ll find guidance on managing your CAF Donate account, getting started with your first campaign, processing your donations and accessing reports.

Managing your account

We understand the importance of helping you to keep your account and donors' information safe - by helping you to manage your user admin.

The Web Administrator(s) for your CAF Donate account is the person who manages day‑to‑day fundraising and donation processing and is authorised to make any necessary changes to the product.

As soon as a Web Administrator leaves, you must remove their access to your CAF Donate account. This can be done by:

  • emailing us from your charity’s domain, or asking an existing Web Administrator to email us (preferred option)
  • sending a letter on charity‑headed paper signed by an authorised signatory

To add a colleague as a new Web Administrator to your CAF Donate account they must first register by filling in our online form. 

If they already have a CAF account login, they can skip the registration step and go straight to setting up Web Administrator access by following these steps:

1. Click the registration link and enter your Charity Commission Number, then select your charity.

2. Choose ‘I do not have a login’ (if needed) and enter your personal details.

3. Select a username (your email address is recommended) and create a password.

4. Agree to the Terms and Conditions and activate your login using the email we send you.

5. A second email will be sent to the contact listed with the Charity Commission asking them to Allow or Deny the request.

6. Once approved, your access will be activated and you will be set up as a Web Administrator.

To update your organisations’ bank details please email your charity's sort code, account number, account name and title as shown on your bank statement to cafdonatevalidation@caf.org.uk.    

We will verify your new details electronically using a Confirmation of Payee Service before proceeding with any payments. Please ensure you provide the bank account name exactly as it appears on your bank statement. If verification is not possible, we may have to come back to you to request a copy of your charity’s bank statement to confirm proof of your bank account.

We regret that we are unable to pay into Building Society accounts.

Set up your campaign and start receiving donations online

Our step-by-step support guides will help you get started with accepting donations through CAF Donate. 

Design your campaign pages Setting up your campaign page is the first step to accepting donations through CAF Donate. Follow our step by step guide.
Drive traffic to your online donation form Learn how to add donation widgets and ‘Donate’ buttons to your website, and create a shareable link that takes donors straight to your donation form.

Here is our step-by-step guide on how to create your campaign. 

 A donation widget is a smaller version of your campaign page that can be embedded directly within your website.

This means you can design a specific look for the page – for example, you may choose to set one up for a particular campaign. The widget then nestles neatly inside it, feeling like it is part of the page itself.

With both formats, donors get the same options for donation type and Gift Aid. Which one you choose to use is entirely down to your preference.

On occasions such as when your charity's reporting is overdue with the Charity Commission; your organisation is going through a merger/acquisition, your charity is in the process of closing, or you are being offboarded we will be able to receive funds but will not be able to disburse the funds until the process has been resolved. We will notify you as soon as is practical if we take such action. 

If a donation requires Customer Due Diligence checks, applicable fees will be deducted at the point of donation. Funds will be released to your nominated bank account upon successful completion of Customer Due Diligence. If Customer Due Diligence cannot be completed, fees will be reversed and the donation returned to the donor.

Refund requests outside regulatory obligations will be considered on a case-by-case basis and we reserve the right to charge a fee on the donation for this service.

Processing your donations

CAF Donate makes it easier for your organisation to process donations. Our handy guides will help you get money into your account quickly.

Process credit and debit card donations Follow our step by step guide below to process one-off donations made by credit or debit card with CAF Donate.
Process Voucher and CharityCard donations Upload your Charity Vouchers and CharityCard donations quickly and get money into your account.

With CAF Donate there are three ways to accept Direct Debits from your supporters:


1. Online

Donors can set up online Direct Debit donations quickly and easily through your campaign page. 


Follow our step by step guide on how to do this. 


2. Offline 

If you collect Direct Debit donations through the post or over the phone, you can enter the details into your CAF Donate account manually for processing. 

Follow our step by step guide on how to process single Direct Debit donations. 


3. Multiple or bulk processing 

Running a telephone fundraising campaign, or simply have lots of Direct Debit donations to upload for processing? You can capture all the new Direct Debit donations into a single, easy to complete spreadsheet which you can then upload in a matter of seconds.


Follow our step by step guide on how to process multiple Direct Debit donations. 

Remember

Donors can choose to add Gift Aid on Direct Debit donations too, so you can be confident of getting the most from every donation.

Go to the Manage Direct Debits tab to learn all about your Direct Debit donors:

All Direct Debits

This will give you a report showing every Direct Debit that is active for your charity. You will see donors’ information, amounts, frequency, Gift Aid status and any additional tracking information such as campaign codes.


New Direct Debit Instructions

Enter a start date and see any new instructions set up since that date. 


Amended/Cancelled Instructions

Enter a start date to view any changes made to existing instructions. If a donation has been cancelled, you will see the reason — for example, the donor may have cancelled it with their bank.

We recommend checking your New Instructions and the Amended/Cancelled report regularly.

Direct debit donations 

Find out how to process and amend single and multiple Direct Debit donations with our step by step guides.

Process single offline Direct Debit donations Process payments you've received over the phone or through the post with our step by step guide.
Process multiple Direct Debit donations Manage offline Direct Debits and set up multiple instructions to process them in bulk.
Amend existing Direct Debits If your donors choose to make a change to their Direct Debit payments, you can amend them easily with CAF Donate.

Reporting

Reporting on your donations is simple, thanks to our Payment and fundraising reports.

A guide to CAF Donate reports Learn how CAF Payment and CAF Donate reports differ and download them.
CAF Voucher and CharityCard reports Download reports to view all uploaded donation details for each.
Reports glossary Understand what we mean by the terms found in your CAF Donate reports with our glossary.

We aim to provide you with the best information possible about your donors. Our reports are a great way to gain new insights:

  • Payments reports – Whenever we send money to your bank account, we create a report showing the total amount sent and a breakdown of how that amount is made up. This report includes all donations, including those made through Give As You Earn (GAYE), Matched Giving, and CAF Donate. I
  • CAF Donate Donations Data – You can create customised reports using the available filters to track campaign performance, understand your regular givers and one‑off donations, and check the status of your Gift Aid claims. It also provides donation details such as the campaign, payment method and donation channel (e.g. online, mobile, Facebook), allowing you to carry out your own analysis.

Through CAF Donate, donations cannot be made anonymously. We provide donor information for reconciliation purposes including their marketing preferences. 

As the donation is being processed by CAF on your behalf, the donor’s bank statement will show a transaction made to the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). The transaction won’t state your charity’s name specifically, but if your donor has any queries, they can call CAF to understand more about their donation.

Applying for CAF Donate

Start your fundraising journey with CAF Donate today. We've put together some hints and tips on how to complete the application form.

To sign up for CAF Donate, follow these simple steps: 

1. Sign up for CAF Charity Dashboard.

Sign up online for CAF Charity Dashboard with your charity's details and your personal details. 

We will then send you an email to activate your login.

To confirm that you are authorised to accept the terms and conditions on behalf of your charity we will contact one of your registered charity contacts (usually by email). Once they approve your access we will email you to let you know that you can log in and start using the account. 

2. Login to CAF Charity Dashboard and apply for CAF Donate 

Applying for CAF Donate is simple. Log in to your CAF Charity Dashboard and click on the ‘Upgrade’ button on your homepage. You will need to: 

  • decide whether you would like CAF to manage CAF Donate Gift Aid claims on behalf of your charity or whether you would prefer to claim your own Gift Aid 
  • provide us with the names, addresses and dates of birth of your trustees

As well as being a registered charity, CAF is also registered for anti-money laundering purposes. This means that we need to take a few more steps with our due diligence process, including asking you for the full names, addresses and dates of birth for all your trustees.

Simply select the option to enter your charity details manually. We may need to ask you for documentation to confirm your charitable status. If this is the case our Customer Service team will reach out to provide further details. 

Yes – as long as your charity is registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, or you have been granted exempt status by HMRC, you are welcome to apply. We may need to ask you for documentation to confirm your charitable status, but we will let you know everything you need to send.

No sadly not. CAF Donate is only available for UK-registered charities.

No. CAF Donate is specifically to support fundraising for your organisation’s stated charitable purpose.

As well as being a registered charity, CAF is also registered for anti-money laundering purposes.


This means that we need to take a few more steps with our due diligence process. In the case of CAF Donate, this means asking you for the full names, addresses and dates of birth for all your trustees.


Although this may seem an inconvenience, it means that you can be confident in our thorough approach. This commitment is why CAF is trusted by both charities and donors.

Charities who use CAF Donate can opt for CAF to process their Gift Aid claims by appointing CAF as their Gift Aid Agent and completing the Gift Aid agent appointment form    . If they choose this option, CAF’s transaction fee (a proportion of the donation) is calculated on the gross donation amount (including Gift Aid). If you appoint us to manage Gift Aid for your CAF Donate donations, you will still need to submit claims for Gift Aid on donations received through other channels.

This optional service helps to reduce administrative burden. Charities can always choose to claim Gift Aid themselves if they prefer, and we provide all the information they need to do so.

A donation will not qualify for Gift Aid if it is not a genuine charitable donation. This means Gift Aid cannot be claimed when the payment is for:

  • Goods or services
  • School fees or educational costs
  • Membership or subscription fees (unless the membership is eligible for Gift Aid and provides no more than minimal benefits)
  • Charges, debts, or any kind of contractual payment

In instances where a donor’s name does not match the details on the card or if they have used a business card, CAF cannot make the donations tax effective- even if they have asked for Gift Aid to be claimed.   

If you are unsure whether a donation will qualify for Gift aid or not, please refer to this guidance Gift Aid donation claims for charities and CASCs - GOV.UK

If you already have an account with us, for example a CAF Charity Account, you can use your same username and password, there is no requirement to set-up a new one. 

When you log in, you will see a list of all the services you hold with us, and you can simply select which of your accounts you would like to access from the list.

We will contact you to ask for details of all the trustees, a copy of your governing document and bank details. We will also require approval of trustees if they are not the ones making the application.

Yes, CAF Donate fully complies with the GDPR regulations. 

CAF acts as your Data Processor and we manage the data relating to your donors responsibly and securely. Read more about our role in processing your donations.

We will report details of your donors’ choices regarding future contact to you accurately and, as Data Controller, you will need to ensure that you comply with your own privacy policy.

When a donation is processed through CAF Donate, CAF acts as an intermediary between the donor and the charity. To provide this service safely, CAF is required to collect sufficient data to meet its legal and regulatory requirements for economic crime, including anti-money laundering, fraud prevention and compliance with sanctions. CAF collects DOB at the point of payment to do this. 

CAF takes data protection and privacy matters extremely seriously. You can find more information about how CAF handles personal data in our Privacy Notice.