The Fundraising Standards Board has ruled that street fundraising company Tag breached the Institute of Fundraising code of fundraising practice for face-to-face activity and charity law while fundraising on behalf of Marie Curie Cancer Care in London this June.
In June, Tag was the subject of a Sunday Telegraph exposé which highlighted a number of poor face-to-face fundraising practices involved in its fundraising campaign for Marie Curie Cancer Care. This included street fundraisers not making disclosure statements to donors and deliberately confusing passers-by in order to engage in conversation; and Tag trainers telling trainees not to accept a ‘no’ response.
In response, the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) launched an investigation into the training and behaviour of Tag fundraisers involved in the Marie Curie Cancer Care campaign.
In its investigation report, published today, the FRSB found that Tag had breached charity law by failing to deliver solicitation statements to supporters and had contravened the Institute of Fundraising’s face-to-face activity code in four areas – individual fundraisers’ conduct, recruitment processes, training and declaration of payment.
Concerns were also raised by the FRSB about documentation presented by Tag within the investigation, which differed materially from documents provided by the Sunday Telegraph.
The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) also submitted evidence to the FRSB of a significant number of site management agreement breaches by Tag in the months preceding the investigation.
Tag is now invited to commit to a 12-month monitoring programme of face-to-face fundraising standards.
The FRSB has also referred Tag to the Charity Commission as its solicitation statement was not compliant with charity law. Responding, a spokeman for Tag advised that the organisation would "co-operate with any inquiry into the matter by the Commission and will welcome clarification of the legal requirements for this new type of fundraising".
Charities must take responsibility for suppliers
The FRSB also concluded that Marie Curie did not adequately monitor the fundraising services delivered by Tag and has recommended that charities take more responsibility for the conduct of the fundraising suppliers they work with.
Fabian French, director of fundraising for Marie Curie Cancer Care, said: "We welcome the FRSB report into TAG and have worked with them throughout the investigation.
"At the time of the incident, Marie Curie fully complied with all relevant Institute of Fundraising Codes of Fundraising Practice. With the benefit of hindsight, however, we accept that we should have monitored TAG's activities more fully. We recognise that the investigation highlights some areas for improvement on best practice and Marie Curie has made extensive changes to its training and monitoring policies accordingly.
"We look forward to clearer guidance from the FRSB and PFRA for the whole of the sector on auditing and monitoring face to face fundraising."
Further recommendations
The FRSB has also recommend changes to the IoF’s face-to-face activity code including the checks necessary to identify potential recruits with a criminal record, the need for employment contracts to be issued within an 8-week period and that all practitioners of face-to-face fundraising ought to sign up to self-regulation of fundraising.
The FRSB has also recommended more compliance monitoring through auditing and mystery shopping programmes, with closer collaboration between the PFRA and the FRSB.
A meeting with both the IoF and the PFRA has been initiated to progress the recommendations.
Colin Lloyd, chair of the FRSB, said: “The standard of Tag’s fundraising was not acceptable. Fundraisers must never mislead, confuse or obstruct the public. When a charity engages face-to-face with the public, it is an opportunity to communicate the vital work of the organisation and its needs for funds. As such, any ask for donations at the time of engagement must be respectfully made.
“This is the first time that the FRSB has launched a major investigation into the practice of a non-member, as we strive to improve fundraising practice across the sector. The investigation has highlighted various issues that need addressing by charities and suppliers when working together, not least that all parties must ensure that they are committed to the same high fundraising standards.”
As a result of the investigation, the FRSB is writing to government, advising that it take up Lord Hodgson’s recommendation that all fundraising organisations over a set voluntary income base commit to the self-regulatory scheme.
Tag responds
A Tag spokesman said: "When the Sunday Telegraph published its piece in June, we accepted straight away that they had identified some shortcomings in our operation, and took immediate action to put these right. This action included an overhaul of our training procedures, appropriate disciplinary action, and an undertaking to co-operate voluntarily with the FRSB investigation – even though Tag is not a member of it and is regulated instead by the PFRA.
"The FRSB found a number of breaches of the IoF Code relating to those issues where we took remedial action, and we accept – as we have done throughout – that we fell short of the high standards we set ourselves. On the other hand, we welcome the fact that Tag was cleared of breaching the Code in half (4 out of 8) of the issues considered by the FRSB, and that the PFRA has endorsed the reforms that we implemented in the summer.
"The last six months have seen us engage in a series of reforms which underline our commitment to high standards of fundraising. They have also given us a unique insight into how the self-regulatory system is currently administered, and the regulatory challenges facing the sector. We feel that it is in the interests of the sector as a whole for us to share such insights with the Public Administration Select Committee, which is currently looking into these matters, and we will be writing to Committee during the course of this week with a number of observations and suggestions.”
