Name and type of organisation: Centrepoint Christian Church (registered charity no. 1067616)
Fundraising method: Legacy
Code themes examined: The drafting of wills, possible conflicts, and donors in vulnerable circumstances.
Code breach? Yes
The complaint
The complainant contacted the Fundraising Regulator in April 2023, having exhausted the charity’s complaints procedure. They were unhappy about the way the charity treated their vulnerable relative. They complained that the charity obtained funds and personal items from their relative by drafting a new will which revoked a previous will and benefited the charity. The complainant told us that during this period their relative was under considerable physical and emotional strain, and was also caring for their dying partner.
The complainant believed that there was a conflict of interest when the charity prepared their relatives’ new will. The complainant told us that the writing of the new will was also witnessed by trustees of the charity, which they considered to be both unethical and contrary to regulations governing charities and charitable fundraising. They also complained about the poor communication they experienced with the charity.
What happened?
We considered information from both the complainant and the charity. We examined the charity’s website, relevant policies, strategy documents, published reports and the evidence provided.
Our decision
Involvement in drafting the will
We found that the charity was directly involved in the drafting of a will in August 2021. The Code of Fundraising Practice makes it very clear that charities must not draft or be directly involved in drafting of wills in their favour. We found that the Page 2 of 3 charity was unaware of the potential ethical and legal implications. The charity accepted that they could have explored alternative courses of action, such as insisting that the donor obtained independent legal advice to assist them with the preparation of a new will.
Possible conflict in duties
Our investigation confirmed that the will was drafted by an employee of the charity and witnessed by one of their trustees. We found that the charity was small and their experience of managing legacy donations was limited.
Supporting a donor who may be in vulnerable circumstance
We found that at the time of the donation the charity did not have a policy or procedures in place to help the charity’s staff to identify and consider the needs of any donors who may be in vulnerable circumstances.
Code sections considered
Code of Fundraising Practice, version effective 1 October 2019 (last updated 4 June 2021)
Section 1.3. Informing donors and treating people fairly Standard
- Standard 1.3.7: breach identified
Section 2.1. General duties Standard
- Standard 2.1.4: breach identified
Section 15.4. Involvement of charitable institutions in making a will Standard
- Standard 15.4.1: breach identified
Our recommendations
Since we received this complaint, the charity has taken appropriate remedial action which included the introduction of a new Legacy Policy. In addition, it has strengthened its existing Conflicts of Interests Policy to make it more comprehensive. We are satisfied that the charity has acted proactively and taken the opportunity to learn from the complaint and strengthen its processes.
We recommend that:
- The charity takes action to improve their trustee awareness around conflicts of interest and charity governance. This could take the form of refresher training in partnership with its local voluntary sector training provider to give their Page 3 of 3 trustees an overview and better understanding of charity governance, regulation, and best practice.
- The charity develops and introduces a fundraising policy for supporting donors who may be in vulnerable circumstances.
Outcome
The charity has accepted our findings and agreed to comply with our recommendations. We will continue to work with the charity to support the implementation of our recommendations.