Seven board members appointed to the Fundraising Regulator
Howard Lake | 11 February 2016 | News
Lord Grade, Chair of the Fundraising Regulator, has announced seven members appointed to the Board, and plans to add two more.
The Fundraising Regulator was set up in response to the Etherington Review: Regulating Fundraising for the Future.
The Board members are:
- George Kidd, Chair of the Direct Marketing Commission and formerly Chief Executive of PhonepayPlus.
- Suzanne McCarthy, Chair of Depaul UK and the Institute of Fundraising’s Standards Committee, and until recently the UK’s Immigration Services Commissioner.
- Margaret Moore, formerly Head of Competition and Regulatory Practice at Travers Smith LLP and now a trustee of Sue Ryder and Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby.
- Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive of Smart Energy GB and Chair of War Child, previously Vice Chair of Citizens Advice England and Wales.
- Michael Smyth, Chairman Community Links, Visiting Professor Queen Mary University of London, former Head Government Practice at Clifford Chance LLP.
- John Stoker, formerly Chief Charity Commissioner and Director General of the National Lottery.
- Jenny Williams, formerly Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission.
The latter two members have regulatory experience.
Suzanne McCarthy brings fundraising experience to the Fundraising Regulator’s board
Scottish charities
Theresa Shearer, the Chair of the Fundraising Working Group in Scotland, SCVO Trustee and CEO of Enable Scotland, will attend Board meetings until charities which raise funds in Scotland consider the options presented by the Working Group on how best to regulate fundraising in Scotland.
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Role of Board members
Board members are expected to serve for at least one day per month and will receive a fee of £300 per day. Each is appointed for a term of two years, with the possibility of a further term subject to open competition.
Next steps for the Fundraising Regulator
Lord Grade confirmed that he was seeking to appoint two additional members with fundraising expertise to ensure “the right balance between regulatory experience, fundraising expertise and wider knowledge of the charitable sector”.
Lord Grade confirmed that he still expected the new regulatory body to take over regulatory responsibilities from the Fundraising Standards Board “in the early summer”.
He added:
“It is imperative that together we get this right – for the future health of the charitable sector and the wellbeing and confidence of those who wish to donate to charities and support the great work they do.”
The Board will, following recommendations in the Etherington Review, set up a Standards Committee and an Adjudication Committee. Both of these will include external members with both regulatory and fundraising experience.
Institute of Fundraising’s response
Richard Taylor, Chair of the Institute of Fundraising, welcomed the inclusion of fundraising expertise in the Board’s membership, in particular the appointment of Suzanne McCarthy. He said:
“It is good to see that the new Fundraising Regulator will have considerable regulatory experience on its Board. We agree with Lord Grade that the Board needs to balance that regulatory experience with fundraising expertise, and we welcome the commitment that the appointment of people with fundraising expertise will now be made.
“We also welcome the commitment, reflecting the Etherington Review, to embed fundraising expertise alongside regulatory expertise in both the Standards Committee and the Adjudication Committee”.
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.