The Charity Commission has said that it will contact trustees of charities that have not contributed to the Fundraising Regulator's levy to "seek clarification on the reasons why" and determine whether their behaviour is "reasonable".
The Fundraising Regulator announced on Wednesday that it would be publishing a full list of charities which have not contributed to its levy on fundraising spend at the end of August. It also said it would be passing this list on to the Charity Commission.
In response to questions from Civil Society News, a Charity Commission spokeswoman issued a statement, saying it plans to contact the trustee boards of the 250 charities who have yet to pay the levy, and ask why they have not contributed.
The full statement, from David Holdsworth, chief operating officer at the Charity Commission, said: “CC20 states that charities should follow the recognised standards for fundraising. The Fundraising Regulator has provided us with a list of charities included in its levy, clarifying which charities have and have not paid the levy.
“The Commission plans to contact those that have not yet paid to seek clarification on the reasons why the trustees have made this decision and to determine whether this falls within the reasonable range of decisions that a trustee body can make.”
A spokeswoman for the Charity Commission told Civil Society News that writing to non-levy paying charities "does not imply that we will take regulatory action against them".
In Fundraising Magazine
Alongside publicly naming and shaming non-contributing charities with its list, the Fundraising Regulator have also been in contact with various membership bodies including NCVO and the Institute of Fundraising, asking each to speak to individual members who have yet to pay.
In a blog written on Wednesday, Amanda Bringans, chair of the IoF said she had personally offered Lord Grade her organisation's help “in whatever way we can to encourage people to sign up through our network and our regular events, and perhaps by holding joint events” to discuss the levy.
Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO has also been vocal in calling on charities within the levy to contribute. At the regulator’s first anniversary event in London on 6 July, Etherington called for the watchdog to “name and shame” those who had yet to pay.
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