Good Fundraising Code reaches 400 sign-ups
Howard Lake | 25 October 2010 | News
Over 400 organisations have now signed up to the Good Fundraising Code, set up by fundraising agency Company Solutions UK Ltd last year to offer organisations a way to demonstrate their adherence “to good practice and high ethical standards” at no charge.
Gareth Edwards of Company Solutions UK Ltd said: “At the time, people criticised us and claimed it was a marketing stunt for our business. However, not once have we emailed or promoted our training or other services to people who have signed up to just the code… all our marketing is independent of and not linked to the code sign ups.
“In fact, almost all of the code subscribers have been our customers first who we then tell about the code. The code is not a marketing tool. It is, quite simply, a response to the genuine concerns from many charities that being charged a fee to appear more ethical than other causes is simply wrong.
Referring to the Fundraising Standards Board’s Give with Confidence scheme, he added: “A two tier system was being created between charities who paid a fee and those who did not. Now, at least, the charities who are ethical but do not want to pay a fee have an option to demonstrate this.
“Running the code for us, as a business serving the sector, costs time and resource, and has therefore been run at a loss and service to the sector. We are happy to continue to do this for the increasing number of charities who want to show good ethics without paying a fee, but we do wish those who think there should be only one paid for code would accept that there are charities already in their hundreds who disagree.
“Criticising this code criticises directly all these hard-working charities and fundraisers who make this choice.”
www.practicalfundraising.com/Page12.aspx?ID=229
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.