The Fundraising Regulator has today published a revised draft of its Code of Fundraising Practice and opened a final consultation with charities and other stakeholders.
Speaking to Civil Society, the regulator’s head of policy Paul Winyard said the revised code was “much more user-friendly” than the current guidance.
The final version of the updated code, which sets the standards which apply to fundraising carried out by all charitable institutions and third-party fundraisers in the UK, is due to be published next year.
Key changes
Winyard highlighted the key changes that the code has undergone since first entering the consultation process last autumn.
“There’s the protecting fundraisers element: so, whereas before, the code largely focused on protecting donors, because the code is there principally around protecting the public from poor fundraising practice, we’ve now got a rule saying you must take reasonable steps, and this is to ensure individuals fundraising on your behalf are protected from harm and harassment.
“And that’s about charities having mechanisms in place for fundraisers to raise concerns around harassment, and fundraisers being told how to respond to harassment by donors.”
Winyard added: “Another key thing is around unstaffed collections.
“One of the reasons we’ve reviewed the codes, because it’s been a long time since the last review, is there’s been a lot of change in fundraising behaviour and technology, and not least around things like contactless payments and top ups and that type of thing.
“We’ve got new stuff in the code around unstaffed collections, and that’s about just making sure there’s consistent and effective information for donors so they’re equipped with what they need to know to make an informed decision before they donate to a charity.”
Winyard added: “There’s also a new bit of code in there around fundraising platforms as well, which basically requires platforms to follow our guidance, which goes a bit further than the [current] code.”
Lengthy consultation process
The first part of the public consultation process ran for 12 weeks last autumn, with the feedback from this period enabling the regulator to redraft the code.
During the first part of the consultation process, feedback indicated that there was a significant amount of support for streamlining the code, moving to more principles-based rules, and replacing rules where the Fundraising Regulator is not the lead regulator with signposting to relevant legislation and guidance.
Now that this redrafting is complete, the second part of the public consultation process is starting today and will run for eight weeks from September to November, offering an opportunity for fundraisers to review the new code.
Gerald Oppenheim, the regulator’s chief executive, said: “It is vital that the Code of Fundraising Practice is accessible, up-to-date, and provides clarity to charities, third-party fundraisers, and the public.
“We were pleased to receive so many detailed responses to the initial public consultation, and to see the high level of support for our proposals.
“This has been invaluable in helping us prepare the draft code for this final consultation.”
‘A clearer picture of what the new code will look like’
Claire Stanley, director of policy and communications at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, said: “The Code of Fundraising Practice has an impact on everyone involved in the fundraising sector.
“This latest consultation from the Fundraising Regulator gives us a clearer picture of what the new code will look like, and I’m sure many of our members will be thinking about what this means for best practice.
“I would encourage everyone involved in fundraising to submit a response to this consultation.
“The Chartered Institute of Fundraising will be running a joint webinar with the Fundraising Regulator later this month for members and non-members to answer any questions they may have that will help inform their responses.”
The consultation is open until 1 November 2024.
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