FRSB changes earn cautious response from sector

Fundraising | 4 Sep 2008

FRSB changes earn cautious response from sector Recent changes to the Fundraising Standards Board’s membership fee structure and engagement strategy have received cautious praise from the sector.

The announcement that the regulatory board would increase fees for the largest charities by 177 per cent, and by a smaller percentage for charities with annual voluntary incomes of between £500,000 and £50m, followed rumours that it was in financial trouble and looking to ramp up fees to levels beyond which the sector was prepared to stomach.

However, it would appear that the fallout is not as severe as it could have been.

“The proposed fees are easily sustainable and justifiable,” said Marion Rose, individual giving director at Save the Children, who expressed relief that the increase was less than had previously been floated.

“There has to be some form of self-regulation and there is going to be a cost around [it]. It’s a case of how minimal you can keep it while still being effective,” she added.

WaterAid’s supporter services manager Stel Kyriacou said the increase was “reasonably affordable” for mid-sized charities such as his to sustain. However, he cautioned: “I would be concerned if the fees were to increase substantially on a year-by-year basis.

”The emphasis on working more closely with charities has also been welcomed. Much of the criticism fielded at the FRSB was that it had failed to engage with the sector it was supposed to represent.

“It’s not just about a greater emphasis on partnership, there’s a whole series of structural changes… about reducing barriers to membership. I’m really heartened by the steps that have been taken on that basis,” said Paul Amadi, RNIB group director of fundraising and chair of the Institute of Fundraising, who also acknowledged the “great role for the Institute to play in marketing membership.

”Save the Children’s Rose agreed, adding that the sector as a whole has a role to play in making self-regulation work: “Charities that are on board need to champion it. It cannot be just down to the FRSB.”

Comments

[Cancel] | Reply to:

Name *

Email *

Organisation

Job Title

Comments *

Verification *

* Please read our Community Standards

Close »

Community Standards

The civilsociety.co.uk community and comments board is intended as a platform for informed and civilised debate.

We hope to encourage a broad range of views, however, there are standards that we expect commentators to uphold. We reserve the right to delete or amend any comments that do not adhere to these standards.

We welcome:

Robust but respectful debate
Strongly held opinions
Intelligent relevant discussion
The sharing of relevant experiences
New participants

We will not publish:

Rude, threatening, offensive, obscene or abusive language, or links to such material
Links to commercial organisations or spam postings. The comments board is not an advertising platform
The posting of contact details for yourself or others
Comments intended for malicious purpose or mindless abuse
Comments purporting to be from another person or organisation under false pretences
Gratuitous criticism, commentary or self-promotion
Any material which breaches copyright or privacy laws, or could be considered libellous
The use of the comments board for the pursuit or extension of personal disputes

Be aware:

Views expressed on the comments board are left at users’ discretion and are in no way views held or supported by Civil Society Media
Comments left by others may not be accurate, do not rely on them as fact
You may be misunderstood - sarcasm and humour can easily be taken out of context, try to be clear

Please:

Enjoy the opportunity to express your opinion and respect the right of others to express theirs
Confine your remarks to issues rather than personalities

Together we can keep our community a polite, respectful and intelligent platform for discussion.