Name and type of organisation: Sustrans, (registered charity no.326550)
Fundraising method: Digital- social media
Code themes examined: Misleading information, evidencing claims and general versus restricted use fundraising
Code breach? Yes
The complaint
The complainant initially contacted the Fundraising Regulator in July 2023, having exhausted the charity’s complaints procedure. At the time, we were grateful for the charity's engagement with the complaint through its internal complaints process. Based on the information available, we did not identity a potential breach of the code, and took no further action.
In November 2023, the complainant contacted us again, citing a change in circumstances and providing further information. They raised concerns that a fundraising campaign by Sustrans, published on Facebook and focused on wildlife protection, was misleading. Specifically, they argued that the charity failed to provide enough information about its primary aims and broader objectives related to expanding the National Cycle Network (NCN), potentially leading donors to believe that their contributions were exclusively for the purpose of wildlife protection. The complaint also questioned whether the charity had sufficiently evidenced claims made about the protection of certain species.
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 for the claims made in the fundraising campaign.
Our decision
Misleading information
We found that Sustrans does carry out ecology and wildlife protection work and does wish to enhance biodiversity across the NCN. We found that its commitment to ecology and wildlife protection work is predominantly a direct result of its primary charitable aim, to increase active travel by expanding and developing the NCN.
However, the fundraising campaign in question does not mention Sustrans’ charitable aim in relation to active travel and the development of the NCN. A potential donor could reasonably conclude the charity’s activities are mostly the promotion and protection of wildlife.
We concluded that the important omission of this wider context does not support potential donors to make an informed decision. We found that Sustrans positioning of itself in this fundraising campaign, as solely focused on wildlife protection on the NCN, is therefore likely to mislead potential donors.
Evidencing claims
Both Sustrans and the complainant have provided credible sources of evidence relating to wildlife protection of various species. While there were some differences, Sustrans demonstrated it has a structured process for sourcing credible evidence for its claims and involves relevant specialists in reviewing this material. We found the charity’s claims to be suitably evidenced.
The purpose of donations
We found that the landing page for potential donors on the charity’s website suggests both a general use purpose and a restricted purpose for donations. We consider that a potential donor would understand that their donation may not go to a specific wildlife species. However, they could reasonably assume from the information provided that their donation will be used for wildlife protection. As wildlife protection is not the charity’s sole activity and donations are for general use funds, we found the suggested purpose of donations to be inaccurate.
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 1.3.1: breach identified
Standard 1.3.2: no breach identified
Section 2.7. Using funds
Standard 2.7.4: breach identified
Our recommendations
We recommended that:
- The charity updates the information provided within the Meta fundraising asks and the relevant website landing page to make it clear to potential donors:
I. What the primary aims of the charity are in relation to the National Cycle Network and any other relevant charitable objects.
II. That donations may support a range of purposes, including general use funds and not exclusively wildlife protection.
III: Ensuring this information is easily available to potential donors prior to them being able to donate to the charity.
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 recommendation.