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What the ‘charitable purpose soft opt-in’ means and how to prepare.

Charities will soon be able to send marketing emails or texts about their charitable purposes without getting explicit prior consent, as long as they meet certain conditions. This change is expected to take effect in January 2026.

It’s a significant shift, made possible by section 114 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, which will add a new regulation (22(3A)) to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

It’s being referred to as the ‘charitable purpose soft opt-in’ and the ICO has recently consulted on how it will work in practice. This change won’t apply to people already on your database, and it doesn’t take effect until at least January 2026, but now is the time to think ahead.

What is PECR again?

PECR, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, sets the rules around electronic communications like email and SMS.

Most of the time, you need someone’s consent to send them marketing by email, however, there has been a ‘soft opt-in’ route available for a long time, for commercial organisations. It allows them to email customers about their similar products and services, as long as those customers were given the chance to opt out when the organisation first collected their personal data.

Until now, this soft opt-in hasn’t applied to charities because marketing about charitable aims, like fundraising or campaigning, hasn’t been covered by the ‘similar services’ definition. So even if someone donated or signed up to hear more, you couldn’t follow up without consent.

The new charitable purpose soft opt-in changes that.

What will charities be allowed to do?

From January 2026, charities will be allowed to:

Send electronic marketing messages (emails, texts, direct messages) about their charitable purposes, without prior consent, but only if you meet all the requirements:

• First and foremost, you must be a charity.
• The sole purpose of your direct marketing is to further one or more of your charitable purposes.
• You obtained the contact details directly from the individual.
• You did so in the course of the individual:
  • expressing an interest in one or more of your charitable purposes; or
  • offering or providing support to further one or more of your charitable purposes.
• The individual was clearly offered the chance to opt out when you collected their details.
• You continue to give the individual the chance to opt out in every future message.

This only applies to personal data collected after the change takes effect. You can’t go back and apply this to your existing database unless you followed these steps at the time – which is unlikely given the rules haven’t existed until now.

What you can do now to prepare

While you can’t use the soft opt-in until January 2026 at the earliest, the ICO has suggested several steps charities can take now:

• Update your privacy notice: make sure it clearly states how you’ll use contact details for electronic marketing.
• Plan your data collection wording: be ready to explain the soft opt-in at the point of sign-up.
• Segment your database: keep separate lists for:
  • People who gave full consent
  • People you’ll contact under the soft opt-in (after January 2026)
  • People who opted out entirely
• Train your teams: especially those handling supporter contact and comms, so they can explain the change and respond to objections.
• Respect objections: if someone opts out or objects to marketing, that takes precedence. You can’t override it with the soft opt-in.

You still need to follow UK GDPR

The charitable purpose soft opt-in sits within PECR, but you still need to comply with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

That means:

• You must be fair, lawful, and transparent in how you use personal data.
• You must respect people’s rights, including their right to object to direct marketing.
• If someone asks you to stop, you must stop, no matter what permissions you think you have.
• You should maintain a suppression list to make sure you’re not emailing people who’ve objected.

Why is this changing and how could it help?

The intention is to help charities engage with supporters more easily, especially in those first few interactions after a donation or expression of interest. It should reduce friction, make it easier to stay in touch, and help boost fundraising efforts.

As with all things data-related, clarity, transparency, and choice remain key. Handled badly, it could cause confusion or even damage trust. Handled well, it’s a tool that could help charities reconnect, raise more funds, and reduce dropout after first contact.

Final thoughts

This change marks a significant and positive shift for charities, but it’s not a free pass. Planning ahead now means you’ll be ready to use the soft opt-in confidently, transparently, and within the rules once it takes effect.

We will provide more information in the new year about how to apply the charitable purpose soft opt in and when it may be inappropriate to use this soft opt.

If you need help reviewing your processes or privacy wording, get in touch with us at info@dunwelldataprotection.co.uk