Ireland: Update On Charities Act 2009 - Renewed Encouragement For Charities To Sign Up To The Statement Of Guiding Principles For Fundraising

Consultation on Implementation of Charities Act 2009

At the ICTR Annual Conference on 8th November 2012, Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Defence, Kathleen Lynch T.D., speaking on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, T.D., told the conference that Minister Shatter is to publish a consultation before the end of this year on his plans for bringing the Charities Act 2009 into force.

Minister Lynch advised: "The consultation will invite views from charities, other interested stakeholders, and members of the public on issues connected with the implementation of the Charities Act. These will include the setting up of a Charities Regulatory Authority; the statutory registration of charities and granting of charitable status; and the types of information that a Charities Regulatory Authority might require from registered charities each year."

Sheila Nordon, Executive Director of the ICTR, advised the conference that the consultation period will be three months and encouraged all charities to engage in the consultation process so that the, hopefully subsequent, implementation of certain parts of the Charities Act will meet with the needs of the sector. 

We also encourage you to engage in the consultation process and would be happy to assist you in this regard.

Statement of Guiding Principles for Fundraising

Minister Lynch and Sheila Nordon again urged charities to signup to the Statement of Guiding Principles for Fundraising.  Both Minister Lynch and Sheila Nordon emphasised that, by taking this step, the sector is demonstrating that it is voluntarily adopting best practice in accountability and transparency which is key to building and maintaining the trust and confidence of the public.

At last year's Annual Conference of the ICTR, Minister Shatter stressed that the Irish charities sector must show that it has a genuine wish to be regulated and that this should start with charities signing up to the Principles.  The Minister further hinted that when a charity applies for a collection permit in the future, the procedures may change such that it may be a requirement that a charity has firstly signed up to and is in compliance with the Principles.

Whether or not signing up to the Principles may be a condition to being placed on the Register of Charities, if and when this is set up under the Charities Act, has not been confirmed.

What are the Principles?

The Principles were drawn up by charity fundraising practitioners and donors and are published on the ICTR website.

The Principles are intended to be of practical use when organising fundraising.  The Principles offers donors, and potential donors, clarity on what they may expect from the charity, its representatives and its management. 

The boards of all relevant charities that fundraise or receive donations from the public, or of charities that engage third parties to do this for them, should consider the Principles and formally commit to comply with the Principles.

What should you do now?

The ICTR has issued a list of 7 easy steps to sign up to the Principles which can be found here.

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