Charity volunteer moving boxes
Blog:

3 simple steps to clear up compliance confusion with charity laws

When operating in the charity sector, you must comply with charity laws. We have built a framework for our customers, informed by the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, so they feel safe managing their brand. We’ve listed three rules to follow when you are checking compliance with your marketing materials.

The charity sector is built on collaboration – sharing insight and best practices. Which is a good thing because that’s also what we like to do at RightMarket. We started partnering with the Chartered Institute of Fundraising in 2018, and have learned a lot about compliance with charity laws and regulations. So we thought you’d like to get clarity on what you absolutely need to keep in mind when creating branded assets.

There can be a lot of confusion and misinformation around compliance. So here are three requirements for fundraising material you need to be aware of and act on:

  1. It is a legal requirement to state that you are a registered charity on all notices, advertisements and documents issued by the charity, or on the charity’s behalf that solicit money. That applies if your charity is registered in England & Wales and had a gross income of over £10,000 in the last financial year.

  2. Volunteer fundraisers must use the expression ‘in aid of’ on fundraising material to distinguish it from fundraising carried out by the charity itself. As a charity, you must ensure your fundraisers understand they are responsible for any liability relating to their fundraising and its organisation.

  3. The Fundraising Regulator badge can only be used on fundraising material by charities that have registered with the Fundraising Regulator. The Fundraising Regulator takes unauthorised use of the Fundraising Badge very seriously.

For more information about compliance with charity laws and regulations, we encourage you to look into the standards section on the CIoF’s website.

References
Charity Legislation- Part 4 section 39 of the Charities Act [Charities Act 2011] 
Charity Legislation- Section 9, 9.1.6. of the Fundraising Code [Code of Fundraising Practice 2019] 
Fundraising Best Practices- Section 5.3.1 of the Fundraising Code [Code of Fundraising Practice 2019]