Symposium to tackle charity clothing collections fraud
Howard Lake | 8 September 2011 | News
A symposium next week convened by the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) and Institute of Fundraising (IoF) will bring together key organisations in charity goods collections to discuss how to tackle the recent increase of bogus clothing collections.
The Charity Clothing Collections Symposium, which takes place on 14 September in central London, is aimed at any charity, commercial participator or supplier involved in charity goods collections. Delegates will learn what can be done to minimise future theft, how to implement the standards set out in the new House to House collections Code and how to help supporters recognise legitimate collections.
Theft and fraudulent collections are believed to cost charities up to £15 million a year.
The event features presentations from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, Trading Standards Institute, National Association of Licensing and Enforcement Officers, Charity Retail Association, ClothesAid, Fundraising Standards Board and Institute of Fundraising, and from a number of charities.
Nick Hurd MP will deliver a keynote speech.
Alistair McLean, Chief Executive of the self-regulatory body for fundraising, the Fundraising Standards Board, said: “Complaints about bogus goods collections have increased by 100% over the past year as supporters query suspicious collections and express their confusion about which collections are legitimate… The impact of a loss of confidence in such an important fundraising method is significant and we need to do everything we can to re-establish trust, helping supporters distinguish between bogus and legitimate collections.”
Louise Richards, Director of Policy and Campaigns at the Institute of Fundraising, added: “We’re seeing an increased number of bogus collections around the UK, and it’s up to the charity sector to reassure the public that it’s still safe to give to charity in this way”.
The Charity Clothing Collections Symposium takes place on 14 September 2011 from 10.00 to 16.15 at The Emmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 3DW and costs £35 per person (inclusive of VAT).
www.frsb.org.uk/english/news/events-2/clothes-collection-symposium/
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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.