Six months ago, the government announced that the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 will include a new provision set to affect large charities that carry out significant fundraising activities. The clause aims to help protect donors and the general public from poor fundraising practices, as well as facilitate a more effective standard of working between charities and their fundraising employees. Sarah Atkinson, Director of Policy and Communications at the Charity Commission stated that “The new Charities Act provisions will help charities to demonstrate that their donors and the public are treated with respect and protected from intrusive practices, and that recognised fundraising standards are always part of the picture where charities are working with a professional or commercial partner.”
As a result, from 1 November 2016, two provisions are now enforceable by charities. These include:
- When using a professional fundraising or commercial partner: The law states that where a professional fundraiser or commercial partner is used to raise funds for the organisation, the mandatory agreement must include additional information which covers:
- Any recognised schemes or standards that apply to the individual when fundraising
- How the professional fundraiser or commercial partner will ensure that they are protecting the needs of the general public and are not acting in an intrusive or delinquent manner
- How the charity or organisation will guarantee and monitor that the partner is fulfilling the above obligations
- Charities that must have their accounts audited will need to include additional information when submitting their annual accounts on the Charity Commission portal: The provision states that trustees will need to ensure that additional information on the charity’s fundraising practices is included in their trustees’ annual return. This should contain:
- The organisations approach to fundraising
- Any work that they undergo that involves any commercial partners or professional fundraisers
- Any standards or schemes that the charity must remain compliant with whilst carrying out fundraising activities
- Any complaints or criticisms that they have received whilst carrying out fundraising activities
- How the charity intends to protect the public from intrusion and pressure from their partners
For further information or to speak to somebody about your charity or organisations reporting needs, please contact Suda Ratnam at suda@raffingers.co.uk.