PFRA welcomes launch of Fundraising Standards Board
Howard Lake | 16 February 2007 | News
The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) has welcomed the new Fundraising Standards Board, launched to the public this week, as “a significant development in raising and maintaining high standards in charitable fundraising.”
Mick Aldridge, Chief Executive, said: “Over the last six years the PFRA has proved that self-regulation of face-to-face fundraising works. My hope for the Fundraising Standards Board is that it will see every form of fundraising achieving the same high standards and that the public can feel confident that, whichever way they choose to support a charity displaying the ‘tick’ logo, it is accountable to a higher authority if it fails to meet the obligations of the ‘fundraising promise’.”
The PFRA is encouraging all of the 116 charities and 15 agencies that make up its membership to join the Fundraising Standards Board as well. However, it will continue to handle complaints from the public and stakeholders specifically about face-to-face fundraisers who don’t meet the requirements of the Institute of Fundraising code of practice.
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Aldridge explained: “The Board will always be the adjudicator of last resort for those who have not been satisfied by a member charities’ response to their complaint, but the PFRA will respond straight away to investigate problems with any face-to-face fundraiser, can usually resolve issues within 48 hours, and can make significantly stronger sanctions if complaints are upheld.
“I hope that eventually all face-to-face fundraisers will carry the ‘tick’ logo on their clothing and materials as an outward sign to potential donors that it is unlikely that they will need to complain at all.”
The PFRA has been driving the regulation of face-to-face fundraising on public highways and house-to-house collections since 2001. It works with the Charity Commission, Office of the Third Sector (OTS), Institute of Licensing, Institute of Fundraising and Association of Town Centre Managers to ensure that high standards of quality, integrity and transparency are maintained.
In the face of continuing criticism of the medium, Aldridge added: “Those who have sought to criticise face-to-face fundraising demonstrate a profound ignorance of how modern charities work, the value of the medium to charities, and the robust regulatory controls in place to ensure standards.
“Calls to remove fundraisers from towns and cities in the UK would deprive over half a million donors a year of a choice in how to give and charities of more than £200 million in income, from committed donors that might not otherwise be reached.
“It is ridiculous to accuse the PFRA of being ineffectual, simply because it will not pander to such calls, when local authorities throughout the country are endorsing their partnerships with the PFRA as the best way to effectively control fundraising activity and dramatically reduce complaints.”
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.