Fundraisers do extraordinary work - they inspire people to support causes they care about and raise billions of pounds to help charities deliver change across the UK and around the world.

Why public fundraising is important

Face-to-face fundraising is a hugely valuable and visible part of the charity sector and remains  one of the fastest and most effective ways of reaching new and diverse donors, as well as contributing significant income to charities. Public fundraising also increases awareness of charities, helps to challenge and change perceptions of fundraising, inspires volunteers and introduces new campaigns to the public.

People who signed up to support in 2024 were projected to give over £50 million between them in their first 12 months alone.

Importantly, standards and quality in public fundraising are higher than ever. Activity and messaging are planned carefully, and fundraisers are well trained in both the messages they convey and their professional conduct as charity ambassadors.

Public fundraising also does far more than raise vital funds. Done well, public fundraising helps change how people see fundraising as a profession, and builds a lasting culture of giving across the UK.

How the CIOF works with charities, agencies and councils

Street fundraising only works well when everyone involved - charities, agencies and the site owners who host fundraising activity - commits to the same high standards.

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising plays a central role in bringing this together, managing the system that allocates street fundraising locations fairly across the country.

By coordinating where and when street fundraising takes place, the CIOF helps prevent oversaturation in any one area, protect the experience of the public, and gives charities and agencies the confidence to plan their campaigns effectively.

The CIOF also works closely with site owners, including local authorities and shopping centres, to maintain positive, long-term relationships that keep sites open to fundraising and help safeguard this important income channel for the whole sector.

Public fundraising agencies play a crucial role in UK fundraising as their insight, expertise and innovation help charities grow, to reach new supporters, and do more to achieve their charitable objectives.

There is no doubt that agencies and other fundraising partners have helped transform the sector, increase its effectiveness and inspire millions of people to give.

How we support charities to do public fundraising legally, ethically and to high standards

It is vital that charities and agencies work together and commit to best practice in face-to-face fundraising. Doing so ensures that all public fundraising activity reaches the excellent standard expected by the public and by regulators, and protects both donors and the wider public.

The CIOF supports this in a number of ways:

  • clear guidance that reflects the Code of Fundraising Practice
  • training that helps fundraisers understand both the messages they convey and their responsibilities as charity ambassadors
  • ongoing monitoring that helps us understand how public fundraising is really experienced on the ground.

Together, this gives charities, agencies and the public confidence that fundraising is being done fairly, honestly and to a consistently high standard.

Mystery Shopping

One of the ways we help keep standards high is through our Mystery Shopping Programme, which sends independent, trained and committed shoppers out to experience public fundraising activity first hand and report back on what they find.

Shoppers spend time observing before they interact with a public fundraiser, and every visit is assessed against a detailed set of questions and compared with the sector rule book. This provides an honest, on-the-ground picture of what the public is experiencing.

In 2025, our mystery shoppers made 1,154 visits, successfully completing 967 of them, with an average score of 99.2%. This is in line with recent years, where average scores have consistently sat between 97.8% and 100% - a strong sign of dependable, high standards across public fundraising throughout the UK.

The mystery shopping results paint a hugely positive picture of public fundraising. When asked to rate their overall experience, the majority of shoppers rated it as excellent or good, and the words they used most to describe the fundraisers they met were passion, knowledge, enthusiasm, friendliness and clarity. Professionalism, trust and warmth came through strongly too - a brilliant reflection of the skill and care fundraisers bring to every conversation.

Get in touch to find out more   Public Fundraising Terms & Conditions

Here are the words used by Mystery Shoppers to describe their experiences with Public Fundraisers

CIOF members taking part in public fundraising pay a monthly levy, based on the number of donors they sign up. This levy directly funds the services the CIOF provides to support public fundraising, from territory management and guidance to training and advocacy that represents public fundraising's interests across the sector.

The Code of Fundraising Practice outlines the standards expected of all charitable fundraising organisations across the UK. The standards were developed by the fundraising community through the work of the Institute of Fundraising and Public Fundraising Association (PFRA).

In 2015, a  Review of Fundraising Regulation chaired by Sir Stuart Etherington identified a need for responsibility for the Code of Fundraising Practice and the public fundraising Rule Books to be transferred to a new Fundraising Regulator to safeguard the independence of fundraising regulation. 

The Code and the Rule Books were formally transferred to the Fundraising Regulator at its launch on 7th July 2016. Decisions on changes to the Code are made by the Fundraising Regulator’s Standards Committee in consultation with fundraising stakeholders.

On the 1st October 2019, the Fundraising Regulator published a new version of the Code of Fundraising Practice. The public fundraising rulebooks were incorporated into the new Code as part of the refresh.

In order for the Chartered Institute of Fundraising to be able to continue its work improving standards in public fundraising, a new set of Rulebooks were established. The three new Rulebooks include all of the relevant standards within the Code that apply to Door to Door, Private Site and Street regular giving fundraising. 

Please note that the Private Site and Door to Door Rulebooks also include guidance from the Gambling Commission which is relevant for lottery fundraising.  

Our thanks to Alzheimer's Research UK for sharing their photos of Public Fundraising with the Chartered Institute of Fundraising.