Revised Code of Fundraising

The Fundraising Regulator has recently issued a revised Code of Fundraising that will come into effect from October 2019. The code sets out fundraising standards applicable to charitable institutions and third party fundraisers operating in the UK.

The Code of Fundraising Practice is laid out in the following sections:

Introduction

Part 1: Standards which apply to all fundraising.

• Behaviour when fundraising (e.g. general behaviour, how to ask for support etc.)
• Responsibilities of charitable institutions and those who govern them (e.g. general duties, risk assessment, accepting/refusing/returning donations, paying fundraisers, using raised funds and how to account/report them etc.)
• Processing personal data (e.g. storing and maintaining data, sharing and selling personal data, direct marketing etc.)
• Processing donations (e.g. cash, tills, cheques, card transactions, direct debits, gift aid etc.

Part 2: Standards which apply to working with others.

• Volunteers
• Fundraising involving children
• Professional fundraisers, commercial participators and partners (e.g. due diligence and conflicts of interest, fees and payment, confidentiality etc.)

Part 3: Standards which apply to specific fundraising methods.

• Collecting money or other property (e.g. licences and permissions, exemptions, static collections etc.)
• Fundraising communications and advertisements
• Digital
• Events (e.g. Venues. Locations and equipment, risk assessment and insurance, promoting an event, cancelling, on the day, after the event etc.)
• Lotteries, prize competitions and free draws
• Grant-making bodies
• Payroll giving and post-tax salary donations
• Legacies

Glossary (a very detailed A-Z of charity fundraising terminology).

The revised code can be found on the Fundraising Regulator website and is clear, concise and easy to read.

Charities registered with the Fundraising Regulator agree to meet the code. The guidance includes additional references (and links) relevant to charities registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as references (and links) to guidance issued by other bodies, such as the Institute of Fundraising, Fundraising Regulator and the Charity Commission.

For more information please contact the charity department at pem@pem.co.uk

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