Northern Ireland charities favour extending remit of UK regulator
Howard Lake | 16 May 2017 | News
Most charities in Northern Ireland prefer joining the Fundraising Regulator operating in England and Wales to establishing a separate body locally, according to a consultation undertaken recently by the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA).
Out of the 47 responses to the online survey 34 were satisfied or very satisfied with the role of the existing Fundraising Regulator. However, the consultation found that there are still some questions to be answered and concerns to be addressed so a working group plans to meet with the Fundraising Regulator to discuss these issues and then formally make a recommendation on the way forward..
Some of the views in relation to joining with the Fundraising Regulator included affordability, capacity, simplicity and clarity for donors across the UK and proportionality due to the number of complaints.
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Concerns were also expressed about the regulatory role in relation to having to pay fees, the stigma of not joining a regulatory framework, not having local control and difficulties for small charities.
In its response, the British Heart Foundation said the approach to fundraising regulation should be consistent, unitary and clear and align with arrangements in England and Wales.
There was a clear appetite from the consultation for improving fundraising practice and a real need expressed for support in terms of fundraising practice and resourcing issues of best practice.
A significant number of respondents suggested establishing a specific “Northern Ireland Fundraising Practice programme and/or group”, where interested parties could work collaboratively to promote best practice and, if necessary, identify and secure additional resources.
- NICVA announces fundraising training programme (27 February 2012)
- Fundraising Regulator launches Code consultation (6 September 2023)
- Fundraising Regulator opens up registration scheme for Northern Ireland (1 March 2018)
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.