GRC Software for Charities & Non-Profits
Meet Your Obligations, Strengthen Accountability, and Build Resilience with Symbiant’s Affordable Modular GRC, Risk, and Audit Software for Charities
Award-Winning GRC & Audit Software,
Trusted Since 1999 by
Charity-Focused GRC Tools
Why Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Matters for Charities and Non-Profits
Charities, non-profits, and third sector organisations operate in an increasingly complex environment, where public trust, legal accountability, and funding stability all hinge on strong governance. As outlined in the Charity Commission’s guidance on risk management (CC26: Charities and Risk Management), trustees are expected to “regularly review and assess the risks faced by their charity in all areas of its work and plan for the management of those risks.”¹ From safeguarding and financial oversight to data protection and regulatory compliance, robust governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) practices are essential, not just for meeting regulatory expectations, but for protecting your mission and the people who rely on it.
Gratitude That Speaks Louder Than Words
What Partnering with Symbiant Means — In the Words of Concern Worldwide
— Catherine Gleeson,”Given the context and challenges faced by the humanitarian aid sector in 2025, it was genuinely heartening to meet the unexpected generosity and understanding we received from Symbiant as a long running business partner to Concern Worldwide. Your kind gift truly has made a difference to us –it has supported the logistics of ongoing audit management and closure, as well as giving our team morale a definite boost.”
Head of Internal Audit & Investigations,
Concern Worldwide
Built for your mission.
Trusted GRC Software for Charities, NGOs, and Non-Profits Worldwide
From frontline service providers to global development organisations, Symbiant is the trusted choice for charities and non-profits who need to manage governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) effectively, without the price tag or complexity of traditional systems.
Designed to be intuitive, secure, and completely modular, Symbiant lets you mix and match only the modules you need. Whether you’re a small volunteer-led organisation or a multi-site charity, our platform easily scales as your needs grow, with no coding or IT expertise required. It’s a fully customisable, out-of-the-box solution that’s ready to use from day one.
With flexible workflows, powerful reporting, and built-in automation, Symbiant helps you stay compliant, accountable, and resilient, while remaining the most affordable GRC solution on the market for the functionality and flexibility it delivers.
Symbiant GRC & Audit for Charities
What is Charity Commission CC26?
Charity Commission CC26 is the official guidance on managing risks for UK charities. It outlines the responsibilities of trustees in identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks to ensure good governance and effective decision-making. The CC26 guidance stresses that risk management must be embedded at all levels of the organisation, not just at board level, and encourages a structured, proactive approach to protecting the charity’s people, assets, and mission.
How Symbiant aligns:
Symbiant’s platform directly supports CC26 principles with tools to document, assess, monitor, and manage risks in real time. It enables trustees and teams to maintain full visibility and accountability, ensuring your charity complies with regulatory expectations while strengthening resilience.
The 5 Types of Risk Charities Must Manage – According to the Charity Commission
To stay compliant, resilient, and mission-focused, charities must manage risk across five key areas—outlined in the Charity Commission’s CC26 guidance. Understanding and addressing each risk category helps trustees make better decisions, protect beneficiaries, and maintain public trust. Below, we break down each risk category—and how Symbiant helps you manage them with confidence.
What the Charity Commission Says:
Charities must ensure strong oversight, clear responsibilities, and active board engagement. According to CC26, trustees “are ultimately responsible for managing risks” and must ensure governance structures support transparency and accountability.
How Symbiant Helps:
Symbiant empowers trustees and leadership teams with real-time visibility into governance activity across the organisation. From risk registers and policy reviews to audit outcomes and unresolved incidents, everything is tracked, documented, and reportable at board level.
What the Charity Commission Says:
Operational risks—like safeguarding failures, service disruption, and health & safety breaches—must be assessed and treated systematically. Risk management should be embedded “at all levels of the charity,” not just at the board.
How Symbiant Helps:
Symbiant makes it easy to capture, monitor, and respond to operational risks across all levels of your organisation. It supports a structured, proactive approach—ensuring issues are reported, reviewed, and resolved quickly, helping you build resilience and protect service delivery.
What the Charity Commission Says:
Charities must manage financial risks proactively, including fraud, overdependence on funding sources, and lack of reserves. Trustees are expected to maintain oversight and “ensure effective use of resources.”
How Symbiant Helps:
Our platform makes it easy to track financial risks, link them to controls, and flag areas of concern. The audit tracker supports internal and external audits, while action tracking ensures follow-up. Custom scoring methods and risk aggregation give finance teams and trustees clarity and foresight.
What the Charity Commission Says:
Non-compliance with laws, regulations, or grant conditions can lead to serious consequences. CC26 recommends charities take a “structured approach to monitoring” compliance obligations and reviewing policies regularly.
How Symbiant Helps:
Symbiant enables a structured, consistent approach to compliance by making it easy to assign responsibilities, track policy reviews, and monitor key obligations. It helps you ensure that nothing slips through the cracks—supporting ongoing accountability, evidence-based reporting, and full audit readiness.
What the Charity Commission Says:
External risks include reputational threats, changing government policy, and donor sentiment. These risks are often overlooked but can significantly impact your charity’s sustainability and stakeholder trust.
How Symbiant Helps:
Symbiant enables charities to capture and monitor external risks within the same system. You can link these to business objectives, create contingency plans, and track trends over time. Dynamic reports help you keep trustees informed and prepared for shifting external conditions.
Why GRC is Critical for Charities and Non-Profits
Charities are entrusted with public money, vulnerable beneficiaries, and vital services. With this trust comes significant responsibility. GRC software helps charities:
Demonstrate good governance to trustees, funders, regulators, and the public
Comply with legal requirements (GDPR, health & safety, safeguarding, fundraising standards)
Manage risks proactively across operations, safeguarding, finance, and reputation
Streamline audits and internal control reviews
Enable cross-functional accountability between staff, volunteers, and the board
Safeguard reputation and donor confidence in a competitive funding landscape
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The Transformative Benefits of GRC for Charities and Non-Profits
Implementing Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) and Audit practices, and supporting them with the right tools, can help charities operate more transparently, efficiently, and sustainably. Below are the key benefits:
Transparency & Trust
GRC practices improve transparency by documenting policies, risks, decisions, and controls. This builds trust with donors, funders, trustees, and regulators—showing your charity is ethical, accountable, and responsible.
Stronger Governance
Clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and reporting lines improve board effectiveness and decision-making. Good governance enables better leadership, more consistent oversight, and a culture of accountability.
Reduced Risk Exposure
Charities face financial, reputational, safeguarding, and operational risks. A structured approach to risk management allows you to identify threats early, assess their impact, and take action before they escalate.
Regulatory Compliance
Staying compliant with charity law, GDPR, safeguarding requirements, and grant conditions is vital. GRC frameworks support structured monitoring, regular reviews, and timely reporting—reducing risk of penalties or breaches.
Improved Financial Oversight
With formal controls and audit trails in place, GRC practices help prevent fraud, detect irregularities, and demonstrate good financial stewardship. This is critical for grant funding, donor confidence, and sustainability.
Operational Efficiency
GRC tools streamline reporting, workflows, and issue tracking—reducing admin time and duplicated effort. This frees up staff to focus on service delivery and mission-critical work.
Better Reporting & Insight
Centralising risk and compliance data improves audit readiness and simplifies reporting to boards, regulators, and funders. Dashboards, heatmaps, and action logs give you a clear picture of performance and progress.
Enhanced Donor & Stakeholder Confidence
When GRC is embedded, you can clearly show how funds are used, risks are managed, and data is protected. This builds credibility with supporters, volunteers, and beneficiaries.
Support for Strategic Planning
GRC aligns operational practices with strategic objectives. Risk and compliance data informs better decisions, ensures alignment with values and goals, and supports long-term planning.
Charity-Focused GRC Tools
What Is GRC Software?
Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) software helps charities and non-profits manage uncertainty, improve oversight, and meet regulatory obligations—all from a single, centralised platform. Rather than relying on disconnected spreadsheets and manual processes, GRC software enables organisations to work more efficiently, transparently, and confidently.
A well-designed GRC system helps you:
Identify and assess risks across operations, finance, governance, and compliance
Track actions, responsibilities, and deadlines in one place
Demonstrate accountability to trustees, regulators, and funders
Maintain an audit trail for decisions, incidents, and reviews
Ensure compliance with safeguarding, GDPR, and charity law
Support better decision-making through live dashboards and reports
For non-profits, where resources are limited and oversight expectations are high, the right GRC software isn’t just helpful—it’s transformative. It strengthens governance, reduces the risk of error, and enables long-term sustainability.
Choosing a GRC solution that’s flexible, affordable, and purpose-built for your sector is key. Symbiant’s modular, agile, fully customisable platform makes it easy to get started—with no costly overhauls or complex implementation. Symbiant is the most affordable GRC and Audit Management Platform on the market.
Charity-Focused GRC Tools
Selecting the Right GRC Software for Your Charity
Choosing the right GRC and Audit software is a critical decision for charities and non-profits. Resources are limited, responsibilities are high, and frequent system overhauls can undermine progress. That’s why your solution must be easy to embed, cost-effective, and flexible enough to fit your needs—not force you into a rigid setup.
Here’s what to look for, and how Symbiant delivers:
Built for Organisations Like Yours
Symbiant is highly trusted by charities, non-profits, government bodies, and public sector organisations where transparency, accountability, and compliance are critical. Whether you’re managing safeguarding risks, preparing for audits, or meeting funding obligations, our flexible GRC platform adapts to your needs. With a modular design, you can mix and match only the tools you need, no wasted features, no unnecessary costs. It’s intuitive, easy to embed, and supported by an optional AI Assistant to help lighten the load, especially for lean teams managing risk and compliance.
Symbiant is the smart choice for organisations with limited resources, designed to deliver powerful GRC functionality without the cost or complexity of overpriced, underperforming tools.
Modular and Scalable
Unlike all-in-one systems that overwhelm with complexity (or cost), Symbiant is modular. You can start with just the features you need, like Risk Register, Incident Reporting, or Controls, and add more as you grow or your needs evolve. No need to rip and replace systems down the line. Symbiant’s easy to use, flexible, robust functionalities are making it an ideal choice for charities.
Easy to Embed and Use
You don’t need a technical team to manage Symbiant. It’s intuitive, quick to set up, and configurable to your charity’s workflows. Our users often go live within days, not months, and training requirements are minimal. This means your team can stay focused on what matters, your mission.
Clear Dashboards & Reporting
Say goodbye to spreadsheets and version confusion. With Symbiant, trustees and managers get real-time dashboards, risk heatmaps, and exportable reports. It’s never been easier to stay on top of compliance, spot gaps, and demonstrate accountability to regulators and funders.
Affordable SaaS Pricing
Symbiant’s pricing is simple and charity-friendly: just £100 per module per month*. You only pay for what you use, no hidden fees, no expensive consultants, and no long-term contracts. Our SaaS model ensures you always have the latest updates, with full support included.
Charity-Focused GRC Tools
Affordable GRC for Volunteer-Led and Small Charities
Smaller and volunteer-led charities often lack the budget or in-house expertise for enterprise-level systems. Symbiant offers GRC for small charities with a modular, low-cost platform that can be set up in days, not months. Start with essentials like risk and policy tracking, and scale up as your needs evolve—without paying for unnecessary extras.
Your questions answered
Frequently asked questions about risk and compliance for charities, non-profits and NGOs.
What is GRC software for charities and non-profits?
GRC software (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) helps non-profits manage risks, uphold legal obligations, and ensure good governance. It replaces manual processes with structured, digital workflows, supporting transparency, accountability, and regulatory readiness.
How does Symbiant support regulatory compliance for charities?
Symbiant offers an affordable, centralised platform to manage compliance obligations, monitor policy reviews, and ensure nothing slips through the cracks. You can track legal and regulatory requirements, link them to relevant risks and controls, all in one intuitive, modular and flexible system. Built for agility and scale, Symbiant helps charities stay compliant and audit-ready without the overhead of expensive or complex software.
Can small or volunteer-led charities use Symbiant?
Absolutely. Symbiant is affordable, intuitive, and modular, making it ideal for smaller charities or volunteer-run organisations. You can start with just the essentials and add more as your needs grow. No large teams or IT departments required.Â
What Is Charity Risk Management?
Charity risk management refers to the structured process of identifying, assessing, and managing threats that could prevent a charity from achieving its goals. These may include financial risks, safeguarding issues, legal non-compliance, reputational harm, or operational disruption. Following a formal charity risk management framework, like the guidance outlined in CC26, helps organisations stay focused, protect beneficiaries, and remain accountable.
Why Governance Matters in the Non-Profit Sector
Effective governance in charities means having clear leadership, well-defined roles for trustees, transparent decision-making processes, and mechanisms for holding people accountable. Strong governance helps build donor confidence, improves compliance, and reduces the risk of financial mismanagement or organisational failure.
How Trustees Can Strengthen Oversight with GRC Tools
According to the Charity Commission, trustees are ultimately accountable for managing risks. GRC tools like Symbiant give trustees visibility over risk registers, policies, actions, and incidents—enabling informed decisions and stronger governance. With automated reporting and audit trails, your board stays aligned and legally protected.
Is Your Charity Audit-Ready?
Being audit-ready is critical for retaining public trust, securing grants, and meeting regulatory obligations. Symbiant’s audit software for charities helps document processes, track remedial actions, and link risks directly to audit findings. Real-time dashboards make it easy to demonstrate control and compliance at every level.
Why Charities Need a Digital Risk Register?
Paper-based systems and Excel spreadsheets often fall short when it comes to managing operational and strategic risks. A dedicated risk register software for charities helps you document, assess, monitor, and mitigate risks across your organisation, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Symbiant’s risk register supports real-time updates, role-based visibility, and powerful reporting to keep trustees and stakeholders informed and accountable.
Streamlining Internal Audits in the Charity Sector
Non-profits must maintain high standards of accountability, often under the scrutiny of regulators, donors, or trustees. Using purpose-built audit management software for non-profits streamlines audit planning, evidence collection, control testing, and reporting. Symbiant centralises all your audit activities in one intuitive platform—helping you stay organised, compliant, and always audit-ready.
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Symbiant
All-in-One GRC & Audit
Management Powerhouse
Symbiant’s flexible, modular platform streamlines governance, risk, compliance, and audit—so you can reduce complexity, adapt fast, and stay focused on achieving your objectives.
Our Solution at a Glance:
Risk Management Software
The Symbiant Risk Management Software module enables organisations to identify, understand, and manage risks with ease and efficiency. It provides a streamlined approach to monitoring, assessing, and mitigating risks, ensuring informed decisions and compliance.
AI-Powered Assistant
Symbiant AI connects data across your organisation, delivering actionable insights and seamless workflows. From logical, data-driven risk scoring to uncovering root causes and predicting the domino effect of control failures, Symbiant AI empowers smarter, faster decisions. Eliminate duplicate risks in seconds, refine controls, identify emerging risks, and so much more—all tailored to your business.
Audit Management Software
The Symbiant Audit Management Software module streamlines audit planning, action tracking, and time management. It automatically pulls relevant data, allows easy report customisation, and generates professional audit reports.
25 Years. Thousands of Users. One Trusted Platform.
With over 25 years of innovation in Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) and Audit Management, Symbiant is trusted by organisations across every sector. Our clients love how our powerful, affordable, award-winning and fully customisable risk software helps them stay compliant, make smarter decisions, and reduce complexity, without the costly overheads.
Risk Management Software
The Symbiant Risk Management Software module enables organisations to identify, understand, and manage risks with ease and efficiency. It provides a streamlined approach to monitoring, assessing, and mitigating risks, ensuring informed decisions and compliance.
AI-Powered Assistant
Symbiant AI connects data across your organisation, delivering actionable insights and seamless workflows. From logical, data-driven risk scoring to uncovering root causes and predicting the domino effect of control failures, Symbiant AI empowers smarter, faster decisions. Eliminate duplicate risks in seconds, refine controls, identify emerging risks, and so much more—all tailored to your business.
Audit Management Software
The Symbiant Audit Management Software module streamlines audit planning, action tracking, and time management. It automatically pulls relevant data, allows easy report customisation, and generates professional audit reports.