Tough new fundraising regulator will help boost public trust in charities says UK governement
Large charities will be forced to sign up to the UK’s new fundraising watchdog, the government has announced.
Rob Wilson, the minister for civil society, has announced that the government is to implement all the recommendations of the National Council for Voluntary Organisation’s (NCVO) recent review of fundraising.
The new watchdog will require charities to have the explicit consent of all donors, past and present, before any data can be shared.
We are building a new regulatory structure to make sure the right safeguards exist to protect those people at risk of exploitation
If large charities fail to appropriately safeguard their supporters, the new laws will also give the government the power to intervene and regulate fundraising.
Anyone who is inundated with fundraising marketing material from charities will be able to press “reset” and stop receiving this material.
Income from individuals is the biggest single source of income for the voluntary sector, at £18.8 billion of the sector’s £40.5 billion annual income.
The government claims these new measures are intended to increase trust in charities and further strengthen charitable giving.
Wilson said: “Charitable giving is one of the most decent and generous attributes of a civilised society – and we need to rebuild people’s faith in the big charities. Those who give to charity should know their donation is going to further a worthy cause and this trust will never be abused.
“We are building a new regulatory structure to make sure the right safeguards exist to protect those people at risk of exploitation. This should help the charities to draw a line under previous bad practice and I hope we will see even more people making donations and giving their time to help others in the months and years ahead.”
These powers build on the recent review of charity fundraising by NCVO chief executive Sir Stuart Etherington and will further bolster changes in the charities bill that give the Charity Commission more teeth to tackle abuse in England and Wales.
The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is still consulting on whether the above system is appropriate for Scotland.
