# IoF updates Telephone Code of Practice

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2010/04/26/iof-updates-telephone-code-practice/
- Published: 2010-04-26T15:20:03+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Charities must understand the difference between marketing and administrative telephone
calls, according to the Institute of Fundraising’s updated Telephone Fundraising
Code of Practice.

Administrative calls must not be made with the specific purpose of soliciting a 
donation or sale and marketing calls should not be made under the guise of administration.
However, supporters marketing preferences can be verified during a genuine administrative
call.

If a donor has supplied their telephone number as part of the details they are happy
for the fundraising organisation to hold, it would be reasonable to assume the donor
would not object being called unless they have indicated otherwise.

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Chief executive of the Fundraising Standards Board, Alistair McLean said: “The large
majority of telephone fundraising is conducted to a very high standard and public
complaints constitute less than 0.1% of the volume of activity in this area. And
yet it remains the second most common source of complaints.”

Natalie Bailey, client services director at NTT Fundraising said the code was “still
open to quite a lot of interpretation” over the relationship between the charity
and donor, but that the update would not make a great deal of difference to the 
way agencies currently act. “We already abide by the regulations,” she said. “As
long as agencies and charities are speaking to donors in the right way it is a good
thing and clarifying the process and best practice can only help.”

www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk

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