New changes have been made to the Code of Fundraising Practice, with the news being released by the Fundraising Regulator. Six major changes have been developed and designed to promote greater transparency from fundraising teams and the way in which fundraising processes and objectives work. The code will come into place promoting agency compliance training, mystery shopping projects for charity fundraisers and other processes to clearly demonstrate that changes have been made in the most efficient and effective way possible.
The regulator announced the changes on the 31st July, and although it was stated that charities would be expected to make the changes, a grace period of up to four months has been implemented for those charities with complicated changes required.
So, what are the changes that are required to take place within the new code of regulations?
Full Explanation of Charity Prior to Donation
The first change that will have to be implemented is that all fundraisers will now be expected to fully explain their relationship with a charity before an individual commits to making a donation. This is to be performed through the reading of the solicitation statement. This aspect of the changes to the code of practice won’t be enforced until 30th November 2017.
Change to Charity Collection Bags
Another change being implemented regards the approach to charity collection bags. From now on, the new code insists that fundraisers are not allowed to leave collection bags at houses that have signs asking that charities don’t leave them. This change will be enforced from 30th September 2017. Despite this change in policy, fundraisers will still be allowed to leave charity collection bags outside houses that have ‘no junk mail’ signs.
Dealing with Vulnerable Individuals
If a fundraiser considers a person they are speaking to, to be a vulnerable individual, they are to end the conversation as quickly as possible, and without making the person feeling unnecessarily uncomfortable. This is a late change, one that wasn’t included in the original consultation process.
Telephone and Street Fundraising Regulations
Within street fundraising there has been a regulation that a conversation must be ended the moment a prospective donor asks for it to be ended. This will be implemented under the new code in relation to telephone fundraising, and will be required as a change within two months.
Publish Clear Whistleblowing Policies
All fundraising organisations will now have to publish clear guidelines relating to whistleblowing, but it won’t have to be separate from the standard whistleblowing policy. Organisations will have four months to get this side of things straight.
Effective Monitoring of Third-Party Fundraisers
A list of actions was added to the consultation process for charities to demonstrate that they are fulfilling the requirement to make a reasonable effort to monitor third-party fundraisers and their behaviour. This includes regular mystery shopping projects, reviewing compliance agency wide on a consistent basis and providing sufficient training for all staff.
High standards should be expected across the board within the fundraising sector and the new code of practice is a stringent way of enforcing good practice.
Content written by Carly Hopkins
