Governance

Charitable Purposes

Last updated: 1 May 2026 · Version 1.0

What this page is. A clear statement of FAIR’s charitable purposes, the public benefit those purposes provide, and the relationship between FAIR’s charitable work and the political activity in which it engages. It reflects the Charity Commission’s guidance on campaigning and political activity (CC9) and sits alongside FAIR’s draft governing document, which will be filed with the Commission as part of FAIR’s registration as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.

1. FAIR’s charitable purposes

FAIR is established for the following charitable purposes only:

The advancement of education - in particular, the education of the public in the legal, ethical, social, and economic implications of artificial intelligence and related technologies, and in the rights and obligations engaged by those technologies.
The advancement of human rights - as recognised under the Human Rights Act 1998 and equivalent international and domestic legal instruments, in particular as those rights are engaged by the development, deployment, and governance of artificial intelligence and related technologies.

Both purposes are recognised charitable purposes under section 3(1) of the Charities Act 2011 - namely, section 3(1)(b) (advancement of education) and section 3(1)(h) (advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation, or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity).

2. Public benefit

The benefit FAIR provides is to the public, and to all members of the public. Specifically:

FAIR’s research, briefings, and educational materials are made publicly available, free of charge, on this website and through partner channels.
FAIR’s engagement with Parliament, the regulators, and government departments is undertaken on the public’s behalf, not on behalf of any private interest.
FAIR is independent of Government, of any political party, and of the AI industry, and does not accept funding from sources whose interests would compromise that independence.
FAIR’s work serves a section of the public sufficient to meet the public-benefit test - namely, the United Kingdom population and any non-UK person whose rights are engaged by AI systems used in or affecting the United Kingdom.

FAIR’s trustees keep the public-benefit requirement under regular review, in line with the Charity Commission’s guidance Public Benefit: the public benefit requirement (PB1) and Public Benefit: running a charity (PB2).

3. How FAIR pursues its charitable purposes

FAIR pursues its charitable purposes by lawful means including:

Producing and publishing research, working papers, and policy analyses on questions of AI, law, and rights, drawing on peer-reviewed sources and primary research.
Producing plain-language explainers and educational materials that help the public, professionals, and decision-makers understand the rights and obligations engaged by AI.
Submitting written and oral evidence to Parliamentary Select Committees, All-Party Parliamentary Groups, and the Senedd, where invited or where evidence supports our charitable purposes.
Responding to formal consultations issued by Government departments and regulators (including but not limited to the ICO, Ofcom, the FCA, the IPO, the EHRC, and the CMA).
Convening expert roundtables and working groups bringing together legal, technical, academic, and civil-society perspectives.
Working in partnership with universities, professional bodies, and other charities whose work is aligned with our purposes.

4. The relationship between FAIR’s work and political activity

FAIR is not a political organisation. Under English charity law a charity cannot have a political purpose - that is, a purpose directed at securing or opposing a change in the law, the policy, or the decisions of any government or public body. FAIR’s purposes are educational and rights-advancing, not political.

The Charity Commission’s published guidance, Speaking out: guidance on campaigning and political activity by charities (CC9), recognises that political activity may, in some circumstances, be a legitimate means by which a charity advances its charitable purposes. It must, however, never become the reason for the charity’s existence, and it must always be assessed against the charity’s purposes and the public benefit they provide.

FAIR’s position, applying CC9, is as follows:

FAIR’s engagement with Parliament, regulators, and Government is undertaken in support of its charitable purposes - advancing public education, and advancing human rights - not as an end in itself.
FAIR’s trustees test each piece of policy or legislative engagement against this question: does this engagement support the advancement of public understanding, or the advancement of rights, in a way that the charity’s ordinary educational and research work alone could not? Where the answer is yes, the engagement proceeds; where it is no, the engagement is not undertaken at the charity’s cost.
FAIR is and will remain politically neutral. We do not endorse any political party, candidate, or independent campaigner, and we do not accept funding or in-kind support from political parties.
FAIR will engage with Parliamentarians and policymakers from across the political spectrum on a balanced basis, and will be transparent about that engagement.
FAIR does not exist to secure the passage or defeat of any particular Bill or piece of legislation. Where FAIR provides written or oral evidence on a Bill, it does so to inform Parliament’s consideration of the Bill, on the basis of independent research, and consistent with its charitable purposes.
FAIR’s trustees will keep under regular review the proportion of FAIR’s resources devoted to political activity (in the CC9 sense), and will satisfy themselves at every Board meeting that political activity is supporting, not displacing, the charity’s charitable work.
During UK general election periods, periods between the announcement of a Senedd election and polling day, and the period of any UK referendum, FAIR will follow the additional guidance in Charities, elections and referendums and will exercise particular care in respect of impartiality and balance.

5. What FAIR is not

FAIR is not a political party, a campaigning group, or a lobbying organisation. We do not run partisan campaigns, accept donations from political parties, or endorse candidates.
FAIR is not an industry body or a trade association. We do not represent the commercial interests of AI developers, deployers, or any sector.
FAIR is not a regulator. We do not certify, accredit, or audit AI products, models, or vendors.
FAIR is not a litigation organisation. While we may, in time, support strategic litigation conducted by appropriate partner organisations, we do not bring our own cases.

6. Trustee duties on political activity

Every trustee of FAIR is required, on appointment, to read and acknowledge:

The Charity Commission’s guidance The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do (CC3);
The Charity Commission’s guidance Speaking out: guidance on campaigning and political activity by charities (CC9);
FAIR’s Conflicts of Interest Policy, which requires the declaration of any political party membership or candidacy bearing on FAIR’s work;
FAIR’s Safeguarding Policy and Complaints Procedure.

Trustees who are members of, or have a candidacy with, any political party are required to declare that interest under the Conflicts of Interest Policy. Where FAIR is engaging publicly on an issue on which the trustee’s party has taken a public position, the trustee will normally withdraw from the relevant decision.

7. Annual reporting

FAIR will report each year, in its Trustees’ Annual Report, on:

The political and policy activities undertaken in support of its charitable purposes;
The Trustees’ assessment of how that activity has supported the charity’s purposes;
The proportion of resources devoted to political activity (in the CC9 sense), and a Trustees’ statement that this proportion is consistent with the proper conduct of a charity.