The new Fundraising Regulator continues to take steps to eliminate perceived abuses in the fundraising sector. In particular attention is being focused on incorrect use of data or inappropriate approaches to individuals. The aim is to rebuild trust between the charity sector and the general public damaged by recent fundraising scandals.
What is the Fundraising Preference Service?
The ‘Fundraising Preference Service’ has now been running for just over two months. This service enables members of the public to control the approaches they receive from charities. Where appropriate they can now opt out of communication from named charities or specified communication channels. So far, 3,718 individuals have registered with the Service and 7,145 requests to remove names from contact lists have been made. Clearly, this is a factor that fundraising charities now need to take into account.
Paying for the Fundraising Regulator
The question of funding the Regulator continues to be a thorny issue. The Regulator has asked all charities with expenditure on fundraising in excess of £100,000 to make ‘voluntary’ contributions and although these are voluntary in a strict legal sense the Regulator will be applying considerable moral pressure on those charities that have not contributed, including publishing a list of those who have and haven’t contributed, and also contacting the Charity Commission where requested contributions have not been made.
Resources and References
- Although registration with the Regulator is aimed at charities with fundraising costs of over £100,000, smaller charities can still register – register here.
The Regulator is also offering registration to commercial participators, fund raising agencies and other bodies involved with charitable fundraising.
Those organisations that do register can work towards using the Regulator’s badge on their fundraising material.
A word of warning
The Regulator does not issue ‘invoices’ and some charities have been approached by fraudsters sending fake invoices.
Please do get in touch with your usual Menzies’ contact if you would like to discuss the issues raised by the recent updates from the Fundraising Regulator.
Richard Snelling is a member of Menzies NFP sector advisor team. To discuss the implications of the Fundraising Regulator updates, contact him by phone on 01784 497 126 or via email at rsnelling@menzies.co.uk