# New rules and fines introduced for face-to-face fundraising

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2012/08/21/new-rules-and-fines-introduced-facetoface-fundraising/
- Published: 2012-08-21T09:57:23+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) has this week introduced a 
new best practice regime for street fundraisers. The new rules are accompanied by
penalty points and fines for fundraising organisations that break the rules.

The rules have been introduced following a year-long field trial and review process,
after the Institute of Fundraising had asked the PFRA to provide extra guidance 
to the Institute’s code of practice on face-to-face fundraising. They are published
in the PFRA Rule Book (Street F2F).

The new rules provide more detailed guidance. For instance, while the code of practice
says only that fundraisers must never “deliberately confuse or obstruct the public”,
the Rule Book defines obstruction as: “Any deliberate action that causes a person
to involuntarily stop or suddenly change

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direction in order to get past the fundraiser and continue their journey.”

The rules carry penalty points of 20, 50 or 100 points, and apply to fundraising
organisations whether they are agencies or charities running in-house teams. When
a fundraising organisation’s points total exceeds 1,000 points, that total is converted
to a monetary fine on the basis of £1 per point. Further breaches are invoiced, 
at £1 per point each month.

Sally de la Bedoyere, chief executive of the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association,
said: “For a form of fundraising that is so regularly in the limelight, it is vitally
important that fundraisers work to the highest possible standards in order to maintain
the confidence of the public, media, and central and local government.

“These new rules complement the Institute of Fundraising’s code of practice on face-
to-face fundraising, which sets the benchmarks for best practice across all forms
of fundraising. This is a prime example of how sector bodies can co-operate to drive
up standards and improve compliance with the codes.”

www.pfra.org.uk

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