Accuracy and clarity in fundraising

The Code of Fundraising Practice, which sets standards to ensure all fundraising is legal, honest, open and respectful, has a number of standards that need to be followed, depending on how you are trying to make sure your fundraising is clear and accurate. Below are some of the key standards to take into account:

1.3.1. You and the fundraising materials you use must not mislead anyone, or be likely to mislead anyone, either by leaving out information or by being inaccurate or ambiguous or by exaggerating details.

1.3.2. Before you make any direct or implied claim in your fundraising which is likely to be taken literally, you must make sure that there is evidence to prove the claim.

9.1.8 If you change any of the details in case studies or use real examples to inspire a case study, you must make this clear and you must be able to prove that the case study is representative of a real situation.

2.7.1 You must use all funds raised for a particular cause for that cause.

2.7.2 You must make sure that donations are used to support the cause in line with any conditions attached to the donation. This may be conditions the donor sets when making the donation or representations you make (either verbally or in fundraising materials) about how the money will be used.

2.7.4 You must make sure that you do not suggest money is for a restricted purpose (such as buying a goat, or helping a particular child) when it may be used for a different purpose or for the general purposes of a charitable institution.

Fundraising materials must also adhere to The Advertising Standards Authority Non Broadcast Code (CAP) and Broadcast Code (BCAP), which both set out rules to avoid marketing communications materially misleading members of the public. These include:

3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.

3.2/3.4 Obvious exaggerations ("puffery") and claims that the average consumer who sees the advertisement is unlikely to take literally are allowed provided they do not materially mislead.- This does not mean that fundraisers cannot be creative in their fundraising, but you should not exaggerate information that will influence donors’ decision making.

3.3/3.2 Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.

Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.

3.6/3.5 Subjective claims must not mislead the consumer; marketing communications must not imply that expressions of opinion are objective claims.

What are you fundraising for and how will the donations be used?

There are many ways a donor can give money to a charity, including one-off donations to emergency or capital appeals, or regular giving through direct debits or subscriptions. To help supporters choose the best way for them to give, fundraisers need to clarify what the money raised will be used for as well as any benefits the donor will receive. 

There are steps you can take to understand how donors respond to fundraising materials and adapting them to avoid confusion, this can include:

• Using active insight (such as welcome calls) or passive supporter insight (such as monitoring social media posts) to confirm supporters have understood the fundraising material.
• Considering if the terminology used for each fundraising product makes sense from the donor’s perspective, for example, will they know the difference between playing a society lottery vs giving via direct debit if both forms of giving are called a ‘donation’? 
• Keeping messaging and branding around a particular fundraising product or campaign consistent across all communications.
• Considering if your messaging and imagery are in line with the purpose of the campaign, such as showcasing only one site or service when fundraising for a wider range of services. You can read more about restricted and unrestricted funds.
• Ensure that the donor has all the information needed to make the best decision for them, this can be particularly important for those in vulnerable circumstances. You can read more about how to do this in our Treating Donors Fairly Guidance.

Does the information shared reflect the situation?

Charities fundraise for complex causes in ever-changing circumstances, it is therefore crucial that any information in fundraising material is accurate, up-to-date at the time it’s used, and can be substantiated. This can become particularly challenging when trying to convey large amounts of complex information succinctly whilst capturing the donor’s attention.

There are many ways to gather and share information meaning there is no one-size-fits all approach to overcoming these challenges. Any approach will depend on the charity’s cause, capacity and donor base, however, you could consider:

• Creating a centralised hub to use internally with up-to-date facts that can be used in communications.
• When working with volunteer fundraising groups, provide them with clear facts and materials they can use to fundraise. You can read more about Working with volunteer fundraisers.
• Asking other fundraisers and colleagues in service delivery to review fundraising materials and confirm facts used are reflective of the situation.
• Keeping a record of your sources and be confident they are credible.
• If- due to a lack of space or to simplify a complex funding situation- you are leaving out information that might be important for donors to make an informed decision or is critical to the context of the campaign.
• Sharing FAQs and suggested answers with donor-facing teams to help them explain the charity’s position, particularly if a topic is likely to generate a response from the public. You can read more about how this in NCVO’s The Road Ahead 2022. 
• Seeking legal advice, particularly if a topic is contentious or it could impact other legal proceedings.

How are you representing your cause?

Stories in fundraising materials do more than present facts, they evoke powerful emotions that inspire donors to give. Sharing stories of service users can be one of the most effective ways of making this happen, however, they must be representative of the communities your charity supports. As fundraisers make choices about the images and words they use, you should be mindful of any unintended consequences of those choices, particularly in how you represent people affected by your cause.

Inclusive storytelling is one way to create new authentic narratives that empower service users while bringing donors closer to the cause. It’s important to remember that inclusivity is a fast-developing area that covers all aspects of storytelling, including making stories accessible for donors.

When portraying the communities the charities works with, some actions you can take include:

• Collaborating with service users or colleagues to identify new narratives that encourage donations whilst representing the views of the community.
• Considering if your service users have any protected characteristics and what perceptions donors might have of these.
• Considering how is the donor portrayed compared to the service user and if this enforces ‘saviour’ complexes.
• Challenging common stereotypes that could influence donors’ perception of the cause, such as portraying a disabled person as ‘helpless’. 
• Reviewing if imagery accurately portrays the service users’ circumstance, for example, picturing them alone when they have the support of their community.
• Taking steps to maintain service users’ privacy, this can include the use of stock imagery or changing names of case studies.
• Undertaking specialist training to help you understand the discrimination your service users are facing, such as anti-racism training, disability awareness training etc.  

You can find more advice on how to portray service users in CharityComms’s Show and tell: a Best Practice Guide to portraying beneficiaries and service users.

How do you share financial information with donors?

Donors will sometimes want to know more about a charity before deciding to support them. This can include wanting to know more about fundraising costs, how much support it receives from the government or what percentage of income is spent on its services. Whilst charities are required to submit this information to their regulator, there is no one-size-fits all approach for calculating it, fundraiser should therefore consider:

• Collaborating with finance teams to establish what information would be best shared on fundraising materials.
• Understanding how and why these figures are calculated and be prepared to communicate this to donors if necessary.
• Adding an accounting year so that if circumstances change, such as receiving emergency support from government, donors have a clear understanding of where this information came from.