The Fundraising Standards Board has strengthened its finances, as its latest accounts show the regulator increased its operating surplus more than tenfold in one year.
The fundraising complaints regulator reported a surplus of £36,681 in 2011 compared with a very small £3,454 in 2010. The increase is in spite of the fact that its administrative costs increased and its grant income fell slightly year-on-year.
The results, published in the FRSB’s accounts, released yesterday alongside complaints records, demonstrate the impact of a 10 per cent increase in the organisation’s membership. Subscription income to the FRSB was responsible for its growth last year, rising from £377,324 in 2010 to £411,731.
Alistair McLean, chief executive of the FRSB (pictured), told civilsociety.co.uk that the results had exceeded the organisation’s budget.
“We’re not-for-profit so all the money will be reinvested into building and strengthening self-regulation in the sector,” he said. “Some of this money will be used to support marketing and help us support members in promoting the message. We’re very pleased to have a surplus for this year.
“We will be investing quite a bit more in trying to raise the profile of self-regulation and support the sector in building public trust and confidence.”
The FRSB may also use the - albeit small - surplus to boost its ability to audit members.
Long path to financial health
The increased surplus is a solid step forward for the organisation, which back in 2008 was forced to defend itself against rumours that it was in financial crisis. Later that year it increased its fees for charity members, and revised down its target for membership. The target was set at signing up 2,000 members by June 2010, a figure which the FRSB has yet to meet, despite last year's 10 per cent boost in member numbers which brought the total membership to 1,355 organisations.
In 2010, McLean told civilsociety.co.uk that the organisation, which was set up with government grants, had become "virtually self-funding" and could survive the end of the last of its statutory income - a small grant from the Welsh Assembly Government (for a Welsh manager to boost regional charity membership) which was due to end in 2011.
