Fundraising is a leading charity concern of NI public
Howard Lake | 25 September 2012 | News
A report published today by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI) has identified charity fundraising as the principal theme behind many of the concerns about charities it receives.
The report is the second of a series of reports looking at common themes behind concerns about charities received by the CCNI.
It outlines the minimum legal standard for charity fundraisers and sets out what the public can reasonably expect when giving to charity. In doing so the Commission affirms the vital role of the public and charity trustees in charity regulation.
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Members of the public have submitted the vast majority of the 150 plus concerns about charities received by the Commission since investigatory work began in February 2011.
This report identifies four common themes behind recent fundraising related concerns about charities as:
· Street and public collections;
· Trading subsidiaries;
· Financial transparency around donations received about charities;
· The role of fundraising agents and professional fundraisers.
It is designed to function “as a resource for charity trustees, volunteers and supporters assisting charities in avoiding common fundraising pitfalls and increasing public trust and confidence in charities by promoting good standards alongside good intention”.
Charity Commission Chief Executive Frances McCandless explained how the report can serve to promote public trust and confidence in charities. She said: “The great work of local charities must be recognised and the public are keen to support this. Levels of charitable giving have held up well despite pressure on household finances. It is vital therefore that people can have confidence in the charities that they donate to.
“This new report sets out what the public can expect from charity fundraisers and how their vigilance can help the Commission to regulate charities and promote good charity fundraising standards”.
The full report can be accessed on the Charity Commission’s website.
www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/Library/pdf_documents/20120925ConcernsaboutcharityfundraisingPDF.pdf
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.