Compliance with charity laws

Person looking over documents
Person looking over documents

Compliance with charity laws: everything you need to know

After months of research, we have created your ultimate guide to compliance within the Charity sector.  

compliance letter

As a charity, you should spend your time on tasks that move your mission forward. Having to delve into government documents around legislative compliance can therefore be both confusing and frustrating.

Complying with legislation means your organisation follows the government’s rules and standards. It is a vital part of running a charity without setbacks. But to get there, you must aware of the legislation and able to demonstrate that you are taking responsibility for them.

At RightMarket, our job is to make things simple and uncomplicated. So, when a client asked us how a specific set of rules affected their materials (with a letter just like the above), we took on the task of finding out. 

Now, we’ve done the research. Moreover, we got advice from the experts, including the Fundraising Regulator, the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.

Like us, you’re probably not a fan of legal jargon, so we have compiled our knowledge into a list of FAQs (in digestible language). You can then check it against your fundraising materials or use to explain compliance to your team.

A quick FAQ

When do these rules apply to our charity?

It applies if your charity is registered in England and Wales, and had a gross income of £10,000 in its last financial year.

What do I need to state on my materials?

You must state the fact that it is a registered charity in legible character on all materials.

What does “all materials” constitute?

All materials includes: 

  • Notices, advertisements and other documents issued by or on behalf of the charity soliciting for money or other property for the benefit of the charity
  • Bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements, cheques and orders for money or goods
  • Bills rendered by the charity and in all its invoices, receipts and letters of credits

Does the statement need to be in English?

The statement must be in English. However, if the document is wholly in Welsh, the statement may be in Welsh if it includes “elusen cofrestredig” (the Welsh equivalent of “registered charity”).

What happens if I don’t comply?

If you issue, sign or authorise any document that does not comply, you will be liable for a conviction fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale. This means a fine of up to £1,000.

Is being prosecuted for an offence common when not complying?

In practice, it is unlikely you will be prosecuted (however, not impossible). It is more likely that the Charity Commission would take regulatory action against a charity that failed to meet the legal requirements.

When does “in aid of” and “on behalf of” need to be used?

“In aid of” means supporters raise funds on their own for a charity independently of the charitable institution. Supporter fundraisers must use the expression ‘in aid of’ on fundraising material to distinguish it from fundraising carried out by the charity itself. If the ‘In Aid of’ Logo isn’t used, the Charity could be held liable for the event.

Alternatively, “on behalf of” volunteers are providing a service for the charity to raise funds on its behalf. They therefore must use the expression ‘on behalf of’ on the fundraising material they create.

As a charity, you should ensure your fundraisers understand they are responsible for any liability relating to their fundraising and its organisation.

When can I use the Fundraising Regulator badge?

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. So make sure you have permission to use it.

What happens if I use the Fundraising Regulator badge incorrectly?

If the Fundraising Regulator badge is used and the Charity isn’t a registered member, the Fundraising Regulator will seek its immediate removal and potentially take legal action. They will also report these organisations to other authorities and regulators who have a legitimate interest in ensuring best practice in fundraising.

We’re here to make it easier​

As we’ve already mentioned, our job is to make your job easier and uncomplicated. Any design made in the RightMarket platform is compliant. We have collated all our knowledge around legislation and made sure that it is reflected on our platform.

That way, you won’t have to worry about anyone producing materials for your organisation that break the rules. Our platform protects and safeguards compliance for you. With our design platform, you can rest easy knowing your team is both aware of the legislation and at no risk of breaking it.

Do you want to understand more or have any other questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us, we’re here to help!

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How to ensure voice consistency for charity shops

Clothes on a rail outside a charity shop
Clothes on a rail outside a charity shop

How to ensure voice consistency for charity shops

Tone of Voice is just as important as visuals when building a brand among charity shops – it’s what will ensure customer loyalty and relationships. So how do you ensure that everyone is on the same page?

Ask anyone how they distinguish charity shops, there’s a big chance they’ll mention brand colours. They have a huge role to play in attracting shoppers, of course. And being instantly recognisable is a large part of building a successful brand.

But to grow customer loyalty, you need more than an exciting palette. Your brand’s personality should help you create a unique customer experience. Something that makes your brand stand out from all other charity shops.

One of the ways to do so is to set a unique tone of voice that your customers can relate with.

Why tone of voice consistency matters

Clothes on a rail in a charity shop

Like all elements of your brand, your tone of voice should be consistent on all materials. Having this brand consistency can increase your revenue by as much as 23%.

But for the charity sector, it may be harder than it is elsewhere, in part because of the high turnover rate. But also because the sector doesn’t just rely on full-time employees. Your volunteers are in contact with a huge number of people too. And yet, they rarely have the opportunity to attend your marketing meetings.

So how do you achieve that when so many people are involved with design production

Tone of voice is more than just what you say, it’s how you say it. A clear and consistent tone of voice is an invaluable asset to your brand because it builds trust with your customers increasing their long-term value.

Sarah Joynt-Bowe

Strategy Director

Things you can do

You need to encourage people to use what your marketing team has worked on. It’s all about educating and trusting people in your team:

  • Train your shop managers on brand guidelines, including tone of voice.
  • Educate fundraisers and volunteers about the importance of brand consistency.
  • List words to avoid when communicating about your brand.
  • Write up repeatable messages people can choose from when creating designs.

We’ve chosen to centralise the production of some of our branded designs to simplify our process. Having hundreds of shops producing their own content isn’t sustainable. It can’t guarantee consistency and that’s too important for us.

Helena Forrest

Marketing Manager

sue ryder

How we help to ensure consistency

Many of our users don’t have marketing expertise, so we worked on a built-in solution for our design platform. This is what inspired us to include a Tone of Voice Assistant*. It’s an easy way to prevent errors that also offers on-brand alternatives people can learn from.

We’re also working on a new feature that’ll make sign-off processes outdated. Choosing from a selection of pre-approved messages, users will be able to create designs in line with your brand voice. That’ll prevent users waiting for sign-off from using tools that can’t guarantee on-brand materials.

* Contact us to find out more.

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Our simple steps to clear up compliance confusion with charity laws

Charity volunteer moving boxes
Charity volunteer moving boxes

3 simple steps to clear up compliance confusion with charity laws

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.

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.

What are the 3 rules for compliance?

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] 

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