The Charity Commission has published new guidance on starting, running and supporting charitable disaster appeals.

It is intended to provide information and advice to charities as well as members of the public who want to give much needed help to people affected by a disaster or other humanitarian crisis.

The public’s natural reaction to a disaster is to do as much as possible to help, as quickly as possible.

Because of this, the new guidance explains the legal and good practice framework for charitable appeals so they can be run in a way that gives people trust and confidence in charities, and encourages donations to current and future appeals.

It explains how people can support relief efforts without necessarily setting up new charities.

Often the best way to help in the aftermath of a disaster is to give money, time or skills to existing charities which already have systems in place.

The guidance also highlights the importance of wording appeals in a way that lets the public know exactly what they are supporting.

Thinking carefully about the wording of appeals can help a charity be clear about how it wants to help, what it can realistically achieve, and whether any surplus funds can be used for other projects it may be involved with.

The guidance aims to encourage charity trustees to think in innovative ways about how their charity can contribute to relief efforts. Importantly, the guidance includes tips on how to recognise and prevent fraud that may affect your charity or your appeal.

Over the last decade, the Commission has been learning lessons from a number of disaster appeals and relief campaigns.

The Haiti earthquake, Pakistan floods and the Japanese tsunami and the generous support they have attracted have underlined the need for clear guidance on how best charities can set up and administer urgent appeals quickly and effectively.

The Charity Commission has worked with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to ensure that key lessons have informed the new guidance.

Kathryn Hindley, deputy chief executive of the DEC, commented: “The DEC welcomes the Charity Commission’s new guidance on disaster relief appeals.

"The increased prevalence of the internet and social media over the last decade has made disasters more visible and we have seen an increased desire in people wanting to help.

"This makes the proper administration of disaster relief appeals of fundamental importance, to ensure money donated is being used where it is intended. The new guidance should help make this process clear so that resources can be more focused on disaster relief.”

Sam Younger, chief executive of the Charity Commission, said: “it is important that charities are clear about the aims of any appeal for public donations and are able to be transparent when demonstrating how such donations are being used.

"The Charity Commission hopes that this new guidance will help inform the general public about the best ways to give, as well as providing clear information to charities about how to run disaster appeals legally and effectively.”

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