Who is the Fundraising Regulator?
The Regulator manages a system of fundraising self-regulation and provides advice to two main constituencies – fundraisers and members of the public. You can find their guidance for those two groups here:
- Key behaviours expected of fundraisers: guidance for fundraisers
- Key behaviours you should expect from fundraisers: advice for the public
Who does the Code of Fundraising Practice apply to?
The Code of Fundraising Practice applies to all charities and third-party fundraisers in the UK, whether or not you are registered with the Regulator. It is available on the Regulator’s website and sets out the standards required. The Code includes legal requirements and also other standards which promote trust and confidence in fundraising.
If you do any fundraising, you should read through the Code to make sure you are following its requirements, which in some instances are very specific and raise issues you might not otherwise think about.
What’s in the Code?
The Code is wide ranging and reflects many of the standards we would set ourselves as Christians in terms of honesty, integrity and how we deal with other people.
Section 1: All fundraising |
Section 2: Working with others |
Section 3: Specific fundraising methods |
|---|---|---|
| Behaviour when fundraising | Volunteers | Collecting money/other property |
| Responsibilities of charitable institutions and trustees | Fundraising involving children | Fundraising communication and advertisements |
| Processing personal data | Professional fundraisers, commercial participators and partners | Digital fundraising |
| Processing donations | Events | |
| Lotteries, prize competitions, free draws | ||
| Raising funds from grant making bodies | ||
| Payroll giving and post-tax salary donations | ||
| Legacies |
What powers does the Regulator have?
The Regulator has no statutory regulatory powers (unlike the Charity Commission).
It can conduct an investigation where a member of the public complains about an organisation’s fundraising practices or if it believes that a breach of the Code has occurred. It will produce a report and make recommendations to the organisation.
It cannot take action against an organisation itself, other than removing it from its public directory, if it’s registered with the Regulator, and suspending use of the Regulator’s badge. It can refer the complaint on, for example, to the Charity Commission, if an organisation does not co-operate with its investigation or fails to act on the recommendations it makes.
We’re here to help
If you’d like more information about how the Code applies to your church or ministry, please speak to your usual ECS contact or get in touch with us on 01858 411568 or [email protected].
