In conjunction with the launch of the new Fundraising Regulator’s draft code, deputy editor Melissa Moody sat down with Paul Winyard, head of policy at the Fundraising Regulator to discuss the changes.
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Melissa: Why is the fundraising code so important?

Paul: Good question, very pertinent one. A lot of charities rely on the income that they get from fundraising each year, and as part of that there is a lot of interaction with members of the public. In that way, fundraisers are the main interaction in a lot of cases with members of the public. So it's very important that donors and members of the public are treated in a fair and balanced and good way throughout that process. Hence our four overriding principles - open, honest, legal and respectful. I think that cuts through the whole of the code. The reason why the code is there to make sure that donors are treated fairly, but also to make sure that reputation of fundraising is protected.

Melissa: So why revise the code?

Paul: The last review of the code was in 2018/2019 and I think in some ways that was more of a revision around accessibility - there was nothing new added to the code.

We’re five years since then, a lot has changed around societal behaviour, the behaviour of fundraisers and technology and we thought that now was the time for a more root and branch review of the code.

This is really more about making sure that the regulations are fit for purpose, that it provides all the protections that we would need for members of the public, but also protecting the reputation of charities. And to keep pace with changes in technology, things like the emergence of digital fundraising would be the obvious one. Because since the pandemic digital fundraising in particular moved into that space more and that stayed with us. That’s the backdrop against which we reviewed the code, and that there's been a lot of changes.

Melissa: What are the biggest changes in the new code?

Paul: You could lump the four key changes into four areas. We launched a code review in 2022 with a call for information, where we asked anyone involved what they thought of the current code and what they thought needed to be improved, if anything. We used that information to really set out our direction of travel start developing a new code which we consulted on last autumn. That call and consultation led us on a move towards a more principles-based code, to make it more flexible, to make it more user friendly, to make it more streamlined.

So instead of having prescriptive rules setting out exactly what good fundraising practice should look like, we've developed guidelines which are more flexible. And what we've done to accompany those is, rather than prescriptive numbered rules to every single potential behaviour, we've set some key expectations and prohibited practices that go within those within those principles.

It’s important to note that we've retained all the protections that are currently in the current code, just made it a bit more user friendly, essentially.

The second area we've changed, is we've addressed rules where we're not the lead regulator. So there are a lot of regulatory areas that intersect with fundraising. Things like data protection, taxation etc. And we know this from feedback that fundraisers like having all that information in one place.

We’ve heard from feedback that the current version of the code is that whilst that information is really helpful, it probably wasn't presented in the most userfriendly way. In doing that exercise, in addressing the rules where we're not the lead regulator, we've removed the
numbered rules and we've replaced them with signposting to the relevant regulator or body, yeah, with links to the relevant guidance.

Another area that we've added new areas to the code is to keep pace with technology and societal change and fundraising behaviour. And lastly, is that we just generally tried to make the whole code user friendly. And that's about making it plain English, about making it keyword searchable. Things as simple as that - changing the layout so people can find the information they need an easier way.

Things that we've added to the new to a new code, I guess would be one of your next questions. Firstly, we've got a new section on what we're calling unstaffed collections. This is a term that we're using for things like tap to donate, top up, micro donations, collection bins and that type of thing.

What we're trying to make clear in that in adding these new rules is making sure that fundraising charities provide donors or potential donors with the necessary information that they need to make an informed decision before they donate.

We've also got a new role on engaging with fundraising regulator. So that's just making clear that when we do conduct an investigation, we expect fundraisers and charities to engage with us in a timely manner. We expect that anyway, but it's just about making it clear.

We've also got a slight tweak to our section on platforms, we will require platforms to follow our guidance. And lastly, we've added a bit on protecting fundraisers. This is following the feedback that we've got from various respondents to the previous consultations.

We heard and we know there's a need for adding something in there around an expectation on charities to take reasonable steps to protect their fundraisers. So that's things like having processes in place so that fundraisers can raise concerns if they have any and about letting fundraisers know how they can respond to harassment by donors and members of the public.

Melissa: What are the next steps now?

Paul: We haven't got an actual date yet when [the new code] is launched, but I would imagine it'll be around springtime. Once we launch it, fundraisers and charities will have six months from that launch to get to grips with the new code, and at the end of that six months that they will then be expected to be complying with it.

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