The Institute of Fundraising has today announced a ban on the selling of donor data to third parties as part of a number of changes made to its Code of Fundraising Practice.

The changes were made in response to the Fundraising Standards Board’s interim report in June, which recommended the Code be tightened in a number of areas.

In a statement released this afternoon, the IoF said that it was implementing a “number of measures” to amend the Code of Fundraising Practice to make it “expressly clear that members of the public must never be put under undue pressure to give”.

The measures announced today are made in response to the interim report published by the FRSB in June:  

• Charities will be banned from selling any individual’s data to a third party
• Every addressed fundraising communication will be required to carry a clear message explaining how donors can easily ‘opt out’ of receiving future communications
• Minimum font sizes will be introduced for opt-in and opt-out statements on all printed communication (including newspaper adverts)
• Charities will only be able to share an individual’s data with third parties for fundraising communications if that individual has ‘opted in’ and provided express consent
• A new clear requirement will be introduced to ensure fundraisers end a telephone call when asked
• All fundraising calls from agencies and call centres will have to be made from an identifiable number
• The current grey area around ‘reasonable persuasion’ in the Code will be replaced with a clear requirement prohibiting intrusive or persistent behaviour that places undue pressure on a person to donate.

The IoF said that these latest amendments to the code were made after the working groups that it established in June made their reports to the Standards committee and to the IoF’s Board.

The IoF also said that it has “shared these decisions with the FRSB and we hope to work with them to agree appropriate implementation periods for an Code changes ‘going live’ and any transition periods that are needed for charities to comply”.

The statements also said that the IoF wants to play “a full and active role in helping to deliver recommendations” from Sir Stuart Etherington’s review on fundraising self-regulation when it is published.

Peter Lewis, chief executive of the IoF, said: “Our Code is underpinned by the values of being open, honest and respectful. The events of recent months highlighted that in too many cases fundraising practice in the UK was not aligned either with public expectations or the values underpinning our Code.

“That is why we are introducing stronger requirements and are requiring all charities to review and amend their fundraising materials.”

FRSB welcomes 'significant changes'

Alistair McLean, chief executive of the Fundraising Standards Board, says: “We welcome the Institute of Fundraising’s announcement that it will make significant changes to the Code of Fundraising Practice. 

“We hope that these changes will not only raise standards within the sector, but improve the donor experience and help to rebuild public trust in charitable giving.

“The IoF has accepted many of the FRSB’s recommendations from our Interim Report and we will review the detail of those changes with our Board imminently.”