What's the difference between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus?

Cyber Essentials is a verified self-assessment against five security controls. Cyber Essentials Plus tests the same controls with a hands-on technical audit by a licensed assessor. You must hold Cyber Essentials before doing Plus.

Do you do the work, or just assess us?

We do the work. Foresight runs the gap analysis, carries out hands-on remediation, prepares the evidence and liaises with the assessor, so you pass first time rather than paying to re-sit a failed audit.

How much does Cyber Essentials cost?

The IASME assessment fee is tiered by size from around £320 + VAT and includes £25,000 cyber liability insurance for eligible UK businesses. Cyber Essentials Plus is scoped to your estate, typically from around £1,380 + VAT.

Charity & Non-profit

AI for Charities: where can charities use AI safely?

AI can save your team real hours — here’s where it genuinely helps charities, where to be careful, and how to use it safely.

Book an AI Readiness Audit Call 0161 738 1399

Why Foresight

Cyber Essentials Plus certified
Microsoft CSP & Copilot specialists
Greater Manchester, since 2006
Honest advice — not licence-selling

Quick answer

Charities can use AI to stretch limited resources — fundraising and grant-bid writing, communications and social content, summarising and reporting to funders — often starting with free tools. Protect beneficiary and donor data, keep a human checking anything sensitive, and set a simple AI usage policy.

Where AI helps

Practical uses for charities

Area	Where AI fits
Fundraising	Bid and grant writing — Copilot or an agent
Comms	Social posts and newsletters — Copilot Chat (free)
Reporting	Summaries and funder reports — Copilot
Beneficiary data	Handled with care — kept out of public tools

Doing it safely

Governance first

Beneficiary and donor data must be protected, and limited budgets mean starting with free tools often makes sense. Before rolling anything out, tidy permissions, put a simple AI usage policy in place, keep sensitive data out of public tools, and keep a human in the loop — all part of our AI Adoption service. See also Cyber protection for charities & hospices.

Free downloads

Start today with our templates

The same free, ready-to-use templates we use in our audits:

“Day in the Life” AI template

Find exactly where AI will save your team time.

Download →

AI Usage Policy template

A short, practical AI policy to keep your data safe.

Download →

FAQs

Common questions

Can charities use AI?

Yes — and it’s a great fit for stretched teams: fundraising bids, comms, reporting and admin, often starting with free Copilot Chat.

Is AI affordable for charities?

Yes — you can start with free tools and add paid Copilot only where it clearly pays back. We’ll help you avoid buying licences you don’t need.

Is AI safe for beneficiary and donor data?

With the right controls, yes — keep sensitive data out of public tools, tidy permissions, and set a simple AI policy.

Can AI help with fundraising?

Yes — drafting bids, grant applications and appeals is one of the strongest uses of AI for charities, with a human refining and checking.

Put AI to work — safely

Start with a fixed-fee AI Readiness Audit and get a clear, honest plan — and the licences you actually need.

See AI Adoption as a Service Call 0161 738 1399