In November 2015, the Government announced the appointment of
Lord Michael Grade as interim chair of the new Fundraising
Regulator. Lord Grade would be responsible for bringing Sir Stuart
Etherington's vision of the new Fundraising Regulator to life.
Just before Christmas, Lord Grade appointed Stephen Dunmore,
previously chief executive of the Big Lottery Fund, as the interim
chief executive. The intention is that the new regulator will be
open in Spring this year.
Lord Grade, who has a background in broadcasting, spoke at the
Fundraising Summit hosted by NCVO in December about the new
proposals. Inevitably, much of the discussion focused on the
controversial Fundraising Preference Service (the 'FPS').
The FPS will be created and managed by the Fundraising Regulator so
that individuals can register if they no longer wish to be
contacted for fundraising purposes – it has been described as
a 'reset' button for those inundated by requests. Any
organisation involved in high volume fundraising would need to
check this list before beginning a fundraising campaign.
Discussion at the Fundraising Summit made it clear that there needs
to be balance between charities' right to ask for funds and the
public's right to be left alone. Lord Grade was keen that,
whilst the Fundraising Preference Service would be delivered by the
end of 2016, time is taken to consider questions raised by the
sector and donors to ensure it is fit for purpose and to avoid as
much as possible any 'unintended consequences'. A working
group, to be chaired by George Kidd, Chair of the Direct Marketing
Commission, will be set up to develop proposals on how to establish
the Fundraising Preference Service. George Kidd emphasised the link
between the Fundraising Preference Service and regulation –
if regulation was working properly, people would not need to sign
up to the Fundraising Preference Service.
Details of how charities, their advisors and fundraising
organisations are able to get involved in the working group are
expected shortly.
A recording of the Fundraising Summit is available here.
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