CABINET OFFICE News
Release (CAB/014/08) issued by The Government News Network on 21
February 2008
The Cabinet Office
today published draft guidance to help professional fundraisers
and retailers who raise money for charity through sales to comply
with new laws.
From 1 April this year, fundraisers who are paid to raise money
will be required to say up front to potential donors how much of
each donation will go to charity and what proportion goes towards
their own wages. This will affect street, telephone and
door-to-door collectors. Similarly, shops who donate a portion of
the sale price on particular items to charity will be required to
state explicitly the extent to which a charity will benefit.
The new laws, which are provisions of the Charities Act 2006,
will ensure that the public can make informed decisions about
making donations or purchasing a product from which a charity will
benefit. They will also help to protect the high levels of public
trust that charities need to thrive.
Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, said:
"People have a right to know how much of what they give will
actually go to charity. Professional fundraising is a legitimate
and very effective way to raise money for the charities that do a
huge amount to tackle poverty and injustice in our world. This
will ensure that they can operate with full transparency, which
will help maintain high levels of public trust in charities.
"This guidance aims to help professional fundraisers know
what the law requires of them, and the Government is keen to have
the views of charities on today's draft version."
Mick Aldridge, Chief Executive of Public Fundraising Regulatory
Association said:
"This helpful Guidance from the Office of the Third Sector
takes on board the real-world operational concerns of the
fundraising community in a positive and constructive way, which
will be an enormous benefit for charities and their agents seeking
to understand and fulfil their legal obligations to ensure members
of the public are properly informed when making their donating choices."
Currently, professional fundraisers and commercial participators
are required to make statements but the new requirements are much
clearer about what they must contain. To help professional
fundraisers and commercial participators provide the information
required by the law the guidance offers suggested template
statements. For example:
Where the professional fund-raiser (an individual) is being paid
an hourly rate: I am a paid / professional fund-raiser working on
behalf of <<charity X>>. I am being paid an hourly
rate of <<£xxx>> per hour. In all, I expect to be paid
approximately <<£ XXX>> for carrying out this
programme of conversations with supporters like yourself
throughout the UK across the whole of the year.
The Charities Act 2006 is the most significant shake-up of
charity law for four centuries. The changes to the requirements on
fundraising statements are the first part of a series of changes
to ensure that new fundraising techniques do not damage the high
levels of public trust in charities. The Government has already
helped the charitable sector to establish self-regulation of
fundraising, with the Fundraising Standards Board.
The Cabinet Office would like comments before 31 May 2008.
Notes to editors
1. The Guidance is available at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/thirdsector
2. The Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office leads on
the Governments commitment to create the conditions for a thriving
third sector. For further information see: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx
3. The Charities Act 2006 was the first major change to charity
law for 400 years. It is largely deregulatory and will free
charities up to focus on their charitable purpose. Further
information including a Plain English Guide to the Act is
available at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/law_and_regulation/charities_act_2006.aspx
4. The Fund Raising Standards Board (FSRB) http://www.frsb.org.uk/
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