The Fundraising Regulator (the 'Regulator') launched its Code of Fundraising Practice Review 2022-24 consultation on Wednesday 6 September 2023, giving charitable organisations an opportunity to share their views and assist with refining and developing proposals for potential changes to the regulation of charitable fundraising. They estimated that the consultation will close after 12 weeks.
The Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice (the 'Code') applies to all fundraising carried out by charitable, philanthropic and benevolent organisations and third-party fundraisers, extending to organisations employed by charities to raise funds for them, and online fundraising platforms, across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Regulator has indicated that it looks forward to 'an open dialogue with fundraisers' and to make sure that 'the public has a voice', particularly those in 'vulnerable circumstances'.
The Code was last reviewed in 2018-19. The 2022-24 review aims to incorporate changes that accommodate new legislation, technology and fundraising behaviour across the last few years. The Regulator has indicated that it looks forward to 'an open dialogue with fundraisers' and to make sure that 'the public has a voice', particularly those in 'vulnerable circumstances'. The public consultation follows on from a process 'information gathering' that took place from 2022 to 2023, which focused on research by the Regulator and engagement with other regulatory bodies and voluntary sector partners with an interest in the regulation of charitable fundraising.
Following the public consultation, the Regulator plans to conduct an eight-week stakeholder engagement exercise on the new code; and anticipates that the updated code be implemented by early 2025.
The Code reflects the law, but is not a comprehensive legal handbook and the Regulator's work relies on a system of voluntary self-regulation which fundraisers and charitable organisations commit to in order to maintain a consistent standard of fundraising across the sector and deal with complaints in line with this.
For further information on the public consultation and the Code Review more widely, please see here: https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/more-from-us/get-involved/code-review-2022-24
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