The Fundraising Regulator has today published its business plan up until 2018, which sets out, amongst other things, an "easily accessible complaints portal" for the public.
The Fundraising Regulator published its Business Plan 2016-2018 on its website this morning. The regulator said that its business plan will establish it “as a fair, robust, values-led regulator to ensure that good practice in fundraising is promoted and upheld throughout the sector”.
The regulator’s business plan sets out in detail its adjudication and complaints procedure, which the regulator based on the now defunct Fundraising Standards Board’s complaints process.
Having established its adjudication committee earlier in the year, the Fundraising Regulator will now “develop an easily accessible complaints portal to ensure anyone who wants to make a complaint is able to do so”.
It will also “put in place detailed written procedures for the conduct of complaints investigations and develop internal systems to support case working” and establish what it calls “an independent review mechanism”. It will also work with other regulators including the Charity Commission, OSCR and the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Guidance on GDPR
The plan also confirms that the Fundraising Regulator will working with the ICO to produce “clear guidance to the sector on the legal requirements and best practice in relations to consents” around the requirements of the upcoming European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
A Fundraising Regulator spokesman said: “We are preparing to develop regulatory guidance for data protection and consents.
"Many charities, of all sizes, will need to follow the example of a number of larger charities and review their databases to ensure they have the required consents in place for all their donor contacts.”
The plan also sets out the regulator’s proposed “research and survey work”. It will “develop a ‘thought leadership’ capacity, carrying out key research and survey work around fundraising in cooperation with our partners”.
The plan names the Commission on the Donor Experience and a collaborative survey “designed to build a more complete and informative picture of the donor perspective”.
Not published its budget
The Fundraising Regulator have also confirmed that it has developed its levy and registration on the basis of an annual income of £2.1m.
It also confirmed that the total contributions from the 45 charities who agreed to fund its start-up costs was £624,000.
Its first annual budget has not yet been published.
Top 10 objectives
The plan also sets out the Fundraising Regulator’s top 10 objectives up until 2018.
This includes investigating cases where fundraising practices have led to significant public concern, adjudicating complaints from the public about fundraising practices and where necessary, taking remedial action on the charity involved and establish the Fundraising Preference Service.
Stephen Dunmore, interim chief executive of the Fundraising Regulator, said: “The Review of Fundraising Regulation, published in September 2015, proposed a single new regulator to deal with fundraising complaints, take responsibility for the Code of Fundraising Practice and develop a Fundraising Preference Service to put individuals back in control of the communications they receive.
"Other key objectives include being proactive and consulting with the sector on the development and amendment on the Code of Fundraising Practice and the Rulebooks.
“One year on, we have set up and launched the new organisation and we are making good progress against our objectives. Our first business plan sets out how we intend to work with the fundraising community to ensure that good practice in fundraising is promoted and upheld throughout the sector.”
Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, said: “I am pleased that we have been able to move from the review to the implementation of a new, strengthened system so quickly and effectively.
"The support the Regulator has received from charities shows that they are serious about ensuring fundraising is always carried out to high standards.”
The full business plan can be read here.
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