Meta restrictions one year on: what charities can do now

The Meta landscape: where things stand

The restrictions didn’t arrive all at once. They've rolled out in stages since late 2024, and charities have been caught up at different points depending on their cause area and how Meta categorises their content.

Here’s a quick timeline of what’s happened:

• Late 2024: Restrictions on domains, conversions and audiences were first announced, affecting charities working in health and wellness, financial services, politics, race, religion and personal hardship.
• July 2025: Meta blocked or restricted custom audiences and conversions that included sensitive information.
• October 2025: Political, electoral and social issues ads were blocked in the EU.
• 2025–2026: Periodic reviews have continued to restrict additional charities, creating ongoing uncertainty, even for organisations that haven’t been affected yet.

It’s worth saying clearly: these restrictions aren’t caused by technical errors or incorrect setup. They’re platform-level policies designed to protect sensitive user data.

But the impact for charities has been significant. Many have lost full-funnel conversion tracking. Remarketing audiences have been reduced or blocked entirely. And even when charities appeal their categorisations, full tracking often can’t be restored.

On top of this, Meta has introduced a new digital services tax of around 2% on media costs, effective from July 2026. Ad costs have nearly doubled in the past five years. And Apple’s iOS changes mean around 90% of users have opted out of tracking since 2021.

Some workarounds have helped, but none are guaranteed.

Some charities have found partial solutions. Hosting specific products (like lotteries) on separate sub-domains with clean pixels has worked in some cases; MS Society, Maggies and Breast Cancer Now have all used this approach.

But what we’re seeing is that these workarounds aren’t always reliable. A domain that’s unrestricted today can be restricted tomorrow. They can help in the short term, but they’re difficult to rely on as a long-term strategy.

What we recommend

Based on a year of testing, our guidance falls into four areas:

Move optimisation higher up the funnel. Optimise for clicks, video views or on-platform leads rather than website conversions, which are no longer reliable for many charities.

Shift measurement away from Meta alone. Use your CRM and GA4 data to look at trends holistically. When paid campaigns are live, we consistently see uplifts in direct, referral and organic traffic, not just in-platform conversions. That broader picture gives you a much more accurate view of what’s actually working.

Diversify your channel mix. This isn’t about abandoning Meta, it’s about reducing your dependence on a single platform. We’re seeing TikTok work well for some charities, with some investing up to 40% of recent media spend there. But the right mix depends entirely on your audiences.

Invest in creative testing. As targeting weakens, creative plays a bigger role. Meta’s algorithm now leans heavily on AI systems like Advantage+, and the campaigns that perform best are those testing different creative concepts, messages, formats and motivations, rather than minor variations on a single ad.

Why email lead generation deserves your attention right now

All of those recommendations are important. But the biggest opportunity we’re seeing across the sector is in email lead generation, and it’s one that’s still significantly underused.

The Charity Digital Skills Report 2025 found that only around 12% of UK charities rate themselves as excellent at email marketing, and nearly one in five don’t use email at all. Meanwhile, the Charities Aid Foundation giving report shows donations are down 10% year on year. Charities are being squeezed from all sides.

The logic for lead generation is straightforward. On social platforms, you’re renting access to an audience, paying to reach people within someone else’s ecosystem, under their rules. When those rules change (and they will), your performance can shift overnight. But when someone gives you their email address, that relationship becomes yours. You can contact them directly, build trust over time and stay connected without relying on any single platform.

There’s a practical benefit too. Because lead generation conversions can happen on-platform using Meta’s lead forms, you don’t need to rely on website tracking at all. The user never leaves Meta, the experience is familiar and frictionless, and you still generate a meaningful conversion signal, even if your website tracking has been restricted.

Three case studies: what this looks like in practice

Drinkaware: lead gen without a lead magnet

Drinkaware’s subject matter, alcohol and behaviour change, means they’ve been directly impacted by Meta’s health and wellness restrictions. They can no longer optimise campaigns towards their primary goal (completing the Drinkaware Drinking Check) in the way they used to.

Rather than relying on restricted tracking alone, the team introduced lead generation as a complementary approach. The ask was simple: sign up to receive ongoing support and advice via email. No downloadable guide, no physical incentive, just an offer of continued help that’s directly relevant to the charity’s mission.

The results were strong. Cost per lead came in at £1.61, well below the M&R benchmark of £2.39, conversion rates hit 6.1%, and critically, over 22% of those leads went on to complete the Drinking Check straight away. Lead gen didn’t just build the list, it created a lower-friction pathway to the charity’s primary goal.

Wildlife Trust BCN: the power of the right lead magnet

The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire hasn’t been restricted by Meta, but they saw a clear opportunity to build their supporter base through lead generation.

Their approach centred on seasonal digital downloads, and a hedgehog-friendly gardening guide proved to be the standout performer, significantly outperforming alternatives on topics like bees or hoverflies. The strength of the offer had a direct impact on performance, reinforcing how important it is to test and learn what resonates with your specific audience.

The campaign generated over 4,000 leads at an average cost of £2.09, with a conversion rate of nearly 30%. And these leads aren’t staying at the top of the funnel, they’re going on to purchase memberships and volunteer, which are key goals for the Trust. The lower cost-per-thousand of lead gen campaigns effectively functions as prospecting, with those audiences then retargeted with membership asks across channels.

Street Child: mission-led messaging at low cost

Street Child’s objective was to grow its regular giving programme. They knew email was one of their most effective acquisition channels, but that brand awareness was an ongoing challenge. Lead gen offered a way to keep the top of the funnel buoyant while giving supporters the consideration time they needed before committing to a regular gift.

The creative took a mission-led approach: “We believe every child deserves the right to education. Do you agree?” No incentive, no value exchange, just a simple alignment with the charity’s mission. They also tested personalising the message with a child’s name, which delivered more leads at a lower cost.

From a budget of just £1,500, the campaign delivered over 900 new leads at roughly £1.50 per lead, again, below the MNR benchmark. It’s a great example of how lead gen doesn’t require a huge budget to deliver meaningful results.

The email lead gen funnel: how to think about it

At its core, lead generation follows three steps:

Awareness: Use paid channels to drive sign-ups. You’re not asking for a donation at this stage, it’s about understanding what your audience is willing to exchange their email address for.

Engagement: Deliver on what you promised and start building the relationship. Keep giving before you start asking. Every number on your spreadsheet represents a person with their own motivations, and the more value you provide, the more trust you build.

Conversion: Once there’s some familiarity, you can move towards a bigger ask, whether that’s a donation, membership or volunteering.

Speed matters here too, as the highest open rates we’ve seen are around 80% when the email is delivered within 60 seconds. When there’s a delay of a week or more due to manual uploads, open rates drop to low single digits.

What about AI?

It’s worth acknowledging that tools like Copilot and Gemini can already summarise emails automatically. If your emails don’t offer real value, there’s a risk they’ll only ever be skimmed.

But the fundamentals haven’t really changed. If you’re giving people a genuine reason to open, read and engage, that’s what good email marketing has always looked like. The rise of AI summaries just makes that even more important.

Where to start

If you’re thinking about introducing email lead generation, or want to get more from what you’re already doing, here are a few starting points:

Get the foundations right. Make sure your email service provider and automation are set up properly, and that delivery is fast.

Set realistic expectations. There are lots of variables: your brand, your offer, your creative. Start small, test, learn and build rather than expecting immediate results.

Think long term. Leads are just the starting point. The real value comes from how you nurture those relationships and build towards action over time.

When it’s done well, this approach can do more than generate leads. Internet Society, for example, saw a 573% increase in donations through a combined approach using paid media, email and a clear nurture strategy.

Let’s talk

If you’d like to explore how email lead generation could work for your charity, whether you’re just getting started or want to improve what you’re already doing, get in touch.