New guidance on working with professional fundraisers & commercial participators
Melanie May | 15 August 2024 | News
The new guidance comes in response to comments made in the public consultation the Fundraising Regulator ran as part of its review of the Code of Fundraising Practice, and regular enquiries received about commercial participators and professional fundraisers through its Code Advice Service.
A professional fundraiser is an individual or business who is paid by a charity to fundraise on their behalf, while a commercial participator is an individual or business that promotes their goods or services on the basis that they will make contributions to one or more charities.
Some respondents to the Regulator’s public consultation said they were unclear about what they needed to do when working with commercial participators and professional fundraisers, and felt that they would benefit from some guidance in this area.
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Those asking through the Code Advice Service are often unclear on the difference between professional fundraisers and commercial participators, and unsure when written agreements and solicitation statements are required and what these should include.
The Fundraising Regulator has published two new pieces of guidance for charities: one about working with commercial participators and one about working with professional fundraisers.
In a blog on the Regulator’s site, Oliver Bayer, Policy Officer at the Fundraising Regulator says that the guidance explains what a charity needs to put in place to work with commercial participators and professional fundraisers lawfully such as carrying out due diligence and having a written agreement in place. It also includes what commercial participators and professional fundraisers themselves need to do to comply with the law, such as complying with written agreements and providing solicitation statements.
Bayer comments:
“This guidance will help charities, commercial participators and professional fundraisers fundraise in line with the law. The legislation in this area can be complex, so the guidance aims to simplify the necessary information with helpful examples.”
Next month, the Fundraising Regulator will be launching the second and final part of its consultation on the new draft of the Code of Fundraising Practice.
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.