Developing a culture of giving

CAF believes in a thriving, independent and self-sustaining civil society, underpinned by a generosity movement responsive to the population it serves.

CAF invests internationally into the very practices and infrastructures that sit between donors, civil society and government to:

  • Build a global generosity movement and a culture of philanthropy
  • Strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations (CSOs) through investing in local infrastructure organisations
  • Create an enabling and regulatory environment to grow effective philanthropy

CAF’s international focus is on enabling, empowering and transforming philanthropy across borders, with a particular focus on giving from the three countries where CAF Group operates: UK, USA and Canada.

Enabling donors to give anywhere safely

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CAF group's international services

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World-class validation expertise

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Enabling donors to give anywhere safely

Donors looking to give internationally can face many challenges. By working with CAF, donors can move funds across borders for impact. We enable our individual and corporate donors from the UK, US and Canada to make tax-effective, strategic, impactful gifts while reducing the risk, reputation exposure, and administrative burden associated with cross-border giving.

CAF provides simple, compliant vehicle for cross-border giving, allowing our donors to give anywhere safely.

Advantages include:

  • Tax benefits for giving to foreign beneficiaries via CAF’s philanthropic vehicles
  • Stringent due diligence processes to cover all anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) requirements in the countries we operate
  • Regulatory expertise to ensure donations are made safely and in line with the regulations of the beneficiary country
  • Local expertise in regions across the world via the CAF Network
  • Advisory services to support your strategy, including research into local and multi-national organisations that are delivering impact.

CAF group’s international services

CAF can offer donors who are wanting to implement impactful and effective international philanthropy multiple solutions.Below is a high level view of the services that CAF offers. For more information please contact us.

Corporate clients  Corporate employee engagement programmes Private clients - Gift, Grow, Grant Charity services 
Advisory – beneficiary selection  Corporate fundraising including matched-giving proposals, online and contactless fundraising and staff charity fund  Vehicles - DAF, DAG, Will Trust  Friends of funds
Advisory – impact framework and CSR strategy development  Volunteer opportunities Social Investments - CAF Venturesome Expedited grantmaking 
Due diligence – grantmaking compliance   Bespoke payroll giving   Advisory – beneficiary selection  Advisory – resilience and sustainability
Grant management – administering grantmaking programmes    Advisory – philanthropic strategy development  Social Investments - CAF Venturesome
CSR programme development and implementation   Advisory – impact reporting   
Social Investments - CAF Venturesome   Due diligence – grantmaking compliance  
    Grant management – administering grantmaking programmes  
 

World-class validation expertise

As the leading global experts in international philanthropy, CAF offers a unique combination of advice, due diligence and experience to deliver impact and ensure your funds are disbursed safely anywhere in the world.

For a gift to be made to a foreign entity tax-effectively, it must comply with laws that govern how charitable funds may be used. CAF ensures that donations comply with charitable law and regulatory requirements on behalf of donors and recipients through our stringent validation processes.

There are three types of regulations that need to be considered when validating a foreign beneficiary organisation:

 Financial regulations  Charitable purpose of the beneficiary and/or project  Specific country regulations
  • Background checks on board of directors and senior staff
  • Evaluation of organisational finances and governing documents
  • Sanctions compliance checks
  • Confirmation of use of funds and budget breakdown
  • Ensures compliance with AML/CFT, anti-bribery and other regulations governing all cross-border financial transactions
  • Ensures deductibility of the grant by confirming that funds sent will be used to advance a charitable cause
  • Specific regulations in each country outline separate processes for establishing charitable purposes and confirming public benefit
  • Establishing charitable purpose is not sufficient to approve a grantee; they must also pass the due diligence review
  • Ensures compliance with specific regulations in different countries on receipt of foreign donations by not-for-profit organisations
  • Network partners help CAF to understand the regulations within their own countries and how to work within their parameters

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Contact us about international giving

Contact us about international giving, whether you have a question about cross- border giving or you want to join our network of trusted partners.

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