A religious charity has been found in breach of the Fundraising Regulator’s code following concerns raised about fundraising for its bid to buy a new church building that subsequently failed.

Tamil Christian church charity Immaanuveel was found to be breach of the code for not including information in its fundraising material to explain to supporters what would happen should the sale not be completed.

A further breach was found in relation to the charity’s handling of a complaint, made by a former church member about the fundraiser, according to a report by the regulator into the concerns.

The regulator found that the church had dismissed the complaint as it believed it was made “in bad faith” and from someone who was no longer a member of the church.

But the regulator found that “the complainant was entitled to a response to their complaint, and this was therefore considered a breach”.

Also, the regulator found that at the time of the complaint the church did not have a complaints policy in place.

The regulator said it had “advised the charity that any member of the public should expect to receive a response to a complaint about fundraising, they do not have to be a member of the church”, adding that “positively, the charity is in the process of completing these policies”.

“We have also shared with the charity that from a regulatory perspective, all members of the church who donate are considered members of the public,” said the regulator.

“Therefore, any fundraising campaign is a public fundraising campaign, needing the code to be followed and any concerns raised to be addressed.”

Fundraising policy review needed

The charity has also been asked to review its fundraising policies and procedures and make clear to potential donors what will happen to funds should any fundraiser not be successful.

The regulator points out that it did not find about significant problems with the campaign and did not find any evidence to suggest that donors had asked for their donations back and had been refused.

Following its decision the charity had asked for the regulator’s decision to be looked at again by an external reviewer.

“However, the external reviewer did not think that the reasons for this request met the criteria for review as per our process. We will continue to work with the charity to support the implementation of our recommendations,” said the regulator.

The Fundraising Regulator points out that it investigated the case using its 2019 Code of Fundraising practice as the complainant raised its concerns with the regulator before 1 November last year when its updated Code of Fundraising Practice was introduced.

---