One week to go before new Code of Fundraising Practice takes effect
Melanie May | 23 September 2019 | News
The Fundraising Regulator is reminding fundraising organisations that the new Code of Fundraising Practice comes into effect a week from now: on 1 October, and urging them to ensure they are prepared.
The changes to the code were first announced in June 2019, when the regulator launched the new version as a downloadable PDF.
Today the code PDF was republished on the Fundraising Regulator’s website, incorporating a small number of changes since the initial launch in June. A log of the corrections can be found here.
The online code has also undergone an extensive redesign and will be available for fundraisers to use from 1 October.
This is the first major redraft of the code in almost a decade, following a consultation in autumn 2018. Improvements have been made to style, presentation, clarity and accessibility to make it easier for fundraisers, charities and third-party organisations to understand the standards expected of them when fundraising.
The regulator is urging fundraising organisations to ensure that their fundraising materials, training and policies are updated to reflect the standards in the new code. To help, it has produced a mapping document and deletions and mergers log to show where old rules and sections have moved to, which will be available online until November 2019.
Complaints will be considered against the version of the code in effect at the time of the incident. This means the new code will be used as the basis for making decisions about any concerns that take place from 1 October onwards.
Suzanne McCarthy, Chair of the Fundraising Regulator’s Standards Committee, said:
“We are delighted to announce that the new and improved code will soon be fully implemented. Since launching the new code back in June, fundraising organisations should have made significant progress on updating their fundraising materials to reflect the new code. By making the code easier to use and more accessible both online and in print, we have made it easier for charities and other fundraising organisations to meet their responsibilities to the public.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.