# Fundraising and Regulatory Compliance Conference: a missed opportunity?

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/03/01/fundraising-regulatory-compliance-conference-missed-opportunity/
- Published: 2017-03-01T16:29:26+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**It was mild and fair when I bumped into the Institute of Fundraising staff team
at Manchester Piccadilly station to walk to the [Fundraising and Regulatory Compliance Conference](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/02/21/discussion-fundraising-regulatory-compliance-conference/)(#
FRCC2017) at the City Hall. We discussed our hopes for the fundraising world to 
gain a better understanding of the regulators’ expectations. As I retraced my steps
at the end of the day it was cloudy and drizzly – and this may be a metaphor for
the experience.**

The anticipated clarity was overshadowed by a repeated refrain of ‘it depends’ in
response to more detailed requests for transparency over specific matters of consent,
data processing rules and use of public data. What did become clear was the lack
of understanding, both of good fundraising practice by the Information Commissioner’s
Office (ICO) and of good data protection principles by charity colleagues. Neither
is surprising. A regulator inspecting regulation breaches will naturally be influenced
by the poor practice they see. Charity fundraisers didn’t go into fundraising to
be data protection experts. Both parties do want to uphold the law.

 

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![Martyn Lewis and the Q&A panel (photo: Dan Fletcher)](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.
cloud/2017/03/frcc-martyn-lewis-20170221.jpg)

_Martyn Lewis and the panel (photo: Dan Fletcher)_

 

## Fundraising techniques

The challenge is to find ways forward that are sensible. For example, the ICO often
remarked that charities should not infer from the receipt of ongoing donations that
consent has been given for further fundraising activity to take place. This view
may stem from specific cases they have dealt with (and may be justified in those
cases), but it’s unhelpful for the ICO to assume that all charities will misuse 
such provisions and to therefore apply a blanket demand for specific consent.

This approach demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of charities’ reliance
on fundraising techniques.

## Common ground?

However, there was some common ground to provide hope that better guidance can be
found. For example, the value and importance of building two-way relationships with
donors, valuing the data that donors provide and moving beyond a simple transaction
were endorsed on the platform by charities and regulators.

 

![Emma Malcolm, Rethink, at Fundraising and Regulatory Compliance Conference (photo:
Dan Fletcher)](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2017/03/frcc-emma-malcolm-20170221.
jpg)

_Emma Malcolm, Rethink (photo: Dan Fletcher)_

 

Emma Malcolm from Rethink gave a compelling case study of this in the way her charity
has changed to meet the needs of its donors, many of whom are beneficiaries too.
It was, however, disappointing that Paula Sussex, CEO of the Charity Commission,
only seemed prepared to applaud the two cases studies from Rethink and Children’s
Society individually at face value. It appears that some scepticism remains among
regulators about whether charities will successfully implement the changes discussed.

## Too many types of donor for a single approach?

There clearly wasn’t common ground on the issue of using data to make decisions 
about how to manage fundraising to different categories of donors, and prospects.
There was also very little input from the speakers about using data to fundraise
from individuals in one-to-one situations in an office, or at an event. Most discussion
was framed within the context of direct marketing, and generally by mail. A better
understanding by the ICO of what fundraising teams actually do would help them to
be clearer in the guidelines they produce, without the fear of a range of unintended
consequences that will result in fewer donors having the opportunity to support 
causes they care about. This is one area in which there is clearly a role for the
Institute of Fundraising to have dialogue with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
And Peter Lewis, its CEO, has indicated that this dialogue will start now, based
on discussions at the conference.

Better dialogue and increased understanding may then move us on from charities being
told they need to balance ‘being intrusive’ against an individual’s right to privacy
and their expectation of how data will be used. It was stated that in an investigation,
the onus would be clearly on the charity to make a case, based on evidence that ‘
intrusion’, or research, is more important than privacy, and that individuals will
not be surprised about how their data has been used. However, no guarantees were
given that the regulator would concede such a case and this is a difficult basis
for charities to make decisions about their activities.

![Workshop at Fundraising and Regulatory Compliance Conference (photo: Dan Fletcher)](
https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2017/03/frcc-panel-20170221.jpg)

_Workshop at Fundraising and Regulatory Compliance Conference (photo: Dan Fletcher)_

## More work needed

In conclusion, the conference didn’t live up to expectations; the clarity hoped 
for was replaced by tentative endorsement of individual examples and a lack of clearly
agreed principles. To enable real progress, there will need to be more work done
to bridge the gap between the views of the ICO about what a ‘reasonable person’ 
would expect from fundraisers, and the experience that fundraisers have of interacting
with reasonable people who want to be philanthropic and engage with their charity’s
work. Hopefully the grey clouds will lift, and Tuesday 21 February will be remembered
as a date where that started to happen.

 

_**Dan Fletcher** is Deputy Director at [Kingston Smith Fundraising & Management](http://www.kingstonsmith.co.uk/services/advisory/fundraising-and-management/)._

 * **[ICO draft GDPR guidance recommends active opt in](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/03/06/ico-draft-gdpr-guidance-recommends-active-opt/)**(
   6 March 2017)
 * **[Charity sector responsible for 27 data security incidents in Q1: down on Q3](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/08/29/charity-sector-responsible-27-data-security-incidents-q1-q3/)**(
   29 August 2017)
 * **[ICO advice line opens to help small organisations with GDPR](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/11/06/ico-advice-line-opens-help-small-organisations-gdpr/)**(
   6 November 2017)

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