By Catherine Orr, Head of Casework at the Fundraising Regulator
In March 2022, at the Fundraising Regulator’s annual event, I announced the formal launch of our self-reporting pathway. The pathway enables fundraising organisations to proactively tell us when they have identified potential non-compliance with the Code of Fundraising Practice in their fundraising activity.
With the recent launch of our new Strategic Plan 2022-27, now is the perfect time to look back and reflect on the outcomes from the pathway so far, and our plans for the future, as we continue to develop our proactive regulatory model.
Self-reports are being made through the pathway
Over the past few months, I’ve been encouraged by seeing organisations starting to self-report to the regulator. Self-reporting is not a formal requirement. However, it reflects positively on an organisation, by demonstrating a willingness to work with us and a desire to put things right.
Reporting volumes are low so far – in single digits – which is in line with our expectations. Firstly, we anticipated that fundraising organisations will only need to self-report in rare circumstances, due to the majority already embedding good practices such as risk assessment and monitoring of fundraisers. We also appreciated there may be some initial wariness of self-reporting, particularly when it is not mandatory. We recognised that it may take some time for awareness of the pathway to grow and for organisations to become comfortable using it.
Appropriate steps are being taken by those reporting
To give a flavour of the types of incidents that have been reported to us so far, these include: a mass direct mailing being sent to the wrong addresses, the failure of third party fundraisers to pass on promised funds to a charity following events, and the alleged unduly pressurising behaviour or inappropriate conduct of individual fundraisers.
I am pleased so say that none of the reported incidents have required us taking any formal regulatory action. I am reassured that the organisations are taking appropriate steps to fix any problems they have identified. We have been able to offer additional advice and guidance where needed to support this.
Improving capacity to identify fundraising concerns
Throughout the next five years, we will be working on improving our capacity to identify fundraising concerns before they crystallise and intervening at an early stage to prevent harm. The information we gather through the self-reporting pathway, together with our complaints report and other data sources, will help us to fulfil our strategic commitment to continually review the fundraising landscape and respond proactively and preventatively to emerging or unaddressed issues.
We appreciate there is more for us to do in providing more detailed guidance on the types of incidents we would consider it helpful for organisations to self-report. This is something we aim to deliver over the coming months as we learn from the reports received and other intelligence. I encourage you to follow our social media channels and sign up for our newsletters to be aware of future updates.