After months of in-depth engagement with our Public Fundraising Advisory Panel, which was formed in the wake of the Fundraising Regulator’s Market Inquiry into subcontracting in face-to-face fundraising, and discussions with professional fundraising agencies, we are delighted to release our new face-to-face fundraising guidance designed to strengthen partnerships between charities and agencies.
Face-to-face fundraising is evolving, which means it is vital that the standards set out to support it evolve too. This is the first major revision to our face-to-face fundraising framework since 2016 and it comes at a time when charities are facing multiple challenges amid rising costs, increased demand for services, limited resources and high levels of public scrutiny around fundraising.
We worked very closely with our Public Fundraising Advisory Panel to pinpoint some of the really key areas of concern we needed to develop in this guidance. The Panel was made up of representatives from 12 of our organisational members who are engaged in regular face-to-face fundraising campaigns.
We have built on existing best practice and introduced new recommendations in some of those key areas that matter most:
- Subcontracting: reflecting guidelines from the Fundraising Regulator, we have set out clear expectations for how charities and agencies should manage outsourced fundraising responsibly – including trustees having a clear line of sight when it comes to knowing who is representing their charity in public fundraising settings.
- Safeguarding fundraisers: we have included emphasis on fair working conditions, appropriate pay for hours worked, and policies that protect fundraisers in potentially isolated roles like door-to-door.
- Transparent job advertising: we want to ensure that fundraisers understand the roles they’re applying for, and the payment models behind them.
- Due diligence and oversight: helping trustees and senior charity leaders understand their responsibilities when working with professional fundraising agencies.
There is a strong focus on the people delivering fundraising on the ground – which is why we engaged so closely with our Public Fundraising Advisory Panel to create this guidance. Everyone involved in the process is, or has been, engaged in public fundraising in one way or another and was able to share some of their own experiences.
We have set out how we expect fundraisers to be treated – from fair pay and transparency around payment models to ensuring safe and supportive working conditions. We want fundraisers to feel protected and empowered to speak up if something isn’t right, which is why we’ve included expectations around whistleblowing and safeguarding in this guidance.
The new guidance reflects a shared commitment across the fundraising community to raise the bar and maintain public trust. This couldn’t have been written without the support and input of our organisational and agency members who actively engage in face-to-face fundraising and we would like to thank them for sharing their time and views with us to help create this guidance.
So, whether you’re a charity working with an agency, or an agency leading frontline teams, we hope you will find this guidance to be an essential resource for delivering responsible, ethical and effective fundraising.