FSB - The Fundraising Standards Board
Exeter Leukaemia Fund joins world’s first scheme to help public give with confidence.
Exeter Leukaemia Fund today (12 February) announced that it has joined a new self-regulatory body for fundraising in the UK, a world first. The Fundraising Standards Board launches to the public today with nearly 250 members, all of whom have committed to a strict set of codes and a Fundraising Promise pledging to treat the public with respect, fairness, honesty and clarity in all their money raising activities.
As a member, ELF has also signed up to an independent, robust and transparent complaints process which means that the public now has somewhere they can go if they are unhappy about how a member charity is raising cash. Membership of the scheme is voluntary and will be visible to the public through the use of the new Fundraising Standards Board’s logo (a tick - see above) on the charity’s fundraising materials.
Jon Scourse, Chief Executive of The Fundraising Standards Board said: “The Fundraising Standards Board is pleased to welcome Exeter Leukaemia Fund to the scheme. As a member, they have committed to the highest standards when raising money and an independent and robust complaints process. By signing up to the scheme ELF has promised the public to act in a way that is honest, respectful and open. Look for our ‘tick’ logo on their materials, it’s your mark of reassurance to help you give with confidence.”
As the new body launches to the public, findings from GfK NOP research show that the majority of people in the South West and across the UK would not know where to go if they had a complaint about a charity’s fundraising. The GfK NOP poll commissioned last month by the Fundraising Standards Board found that nine out of ten (87 per cent) people polled in South West had given to charity last year, but only a 18% said they knew who to contact to lodge a complaint with, demonstrating the need for an independent body such as this.
The research also found that the top two reasons that would push people in the South West to consider making an official complaint were:
- If they felt a charity had exaggerated or not told them the truth or they had been misled by a charity.
- If a charity continued to contact them after they had asked them not to.
The Fundraising Standards Board can now handle both of these complaints.
The new body represents an important commitment by charities to ensure that the public can continue to give with confidence to a sector that last year raised £8.9 billion for its good work.
A spokesperson for ELF, one of the first members to join the Fundraising StandardsBoard: “we have always strived to be as careful as possible in our fundraising efforts and have, we believe, achieved that difficult balance between the need to raise money for the cause and the sensitivity of the general public. A formal code of practice and a fundraising promise is now in place for member charities which will give back the confidence to the general public to give to those committed the best practice. I urge donors to look for the blue tick when giving”.
Members of the public can contact the Fundraising Standards Board via the website www.fsboard.org.uk or by calling 0845 402 5442.
Fundraising Standards Board
- The Fundraising Standards Board scheme was set up after wide consultation with many charitable bodies and the Government, and follows recommendations laid out in the Buse report. The project has been supported by the Office for the Third Sector and the Scottish Executive.
- The Fundraising Standards Board scheme is open to all fundraising organisations and members will agree to adhere to the highest standards in fundraising by committing to the Fundraising Promise and the Institute of Fundraisings codes of practice.
- Members will demonstrate membership of the scheme by using the Fundraising Standards Board tick on their fundraising materials. By participating in the scheme, charities are both advertising their commitment to best fundraising practices and giving public the comfort of a 'safety net' provided by a robust complaints system.
- The fieldwork for the GfK NOP survey was conducted via telephone on behalf of the Fundraising Standards Board between 12th and 14th January 2007. In total 1,000 individuals took part.
- The charity sector last year raised £8.9 billion, UK Giving report by CAF and NVCO 2005/06
- A full list of members is available at www.fsboard.org.uk
- For more information or to sign to up to the scheme please visit www.fsboard.org.uk or call 0845 402 5442.