A number of non-profit campaigning and lobbying organisations have said that the Fundraising Regulator has not informed them that they will fall under the scope of the Fundraising Preference Service.
38 Degrees, Dignity in Dying, Amnesty International UK, have told Civil Society News that they had not been made aware that the Fundraising Regulator was looking to expand the remit of the FPS to include organisations that are not registered charities but “raise funds” from the public.
Laura Townshend, communication director at campaigning membership body 38 Degrees, said that it had not been contacted by the Fundraising Regulator in regards to it falling under the remit of the FPS.
Lack of clarity
David Pearce, director of fundraising and marketing at Dignity in Dying and Compassion in Dying, also said that his organisation had had no contact from the Fundraising Regulator. He said, while that would “tally with his expectations” he didn’t “think it’s been well communicated”.
Pearce also said that, as a membership organisation, Dignity in Dying was also unclear about how the FPS would affect its communications with its own members.
“I’m even less clear on how that is viewed as our members expect a letter to remind them to renew, if someone opts out via FPS does that mean they don’t want that? There may be no one clear answer - our members are not a homogenous group, some see a very clear distinction between membership subs and donating, others think they are the same thing as it all supports the cause.”
Niall Couper, head of media, public relations and supporter care at Amnesty International UK which is not a registered charity, said its charitable trust would fall under the remit of the FPS. He did not say whether the Fundraising Regulator had reached out to the non-profit part of the organisation however.
Greenpeace said that it was unable to comment at this time.
Fundraising Regulator to release more detail for campaigning organisations ‘soon’
A spokesman for the Fundraising Regulator confirmed that “some campaigning and advocacy organisation which are not registered charities” would fall under the auspices of the FPS, and said the fundraising watchdog would be providing them with more information “soon”.
“There are some campaigning and advocacy organisations which are not registered charities but which fundraise extensively in the same way as a charity and we would see those being covered; they will be organisations that are not-for-profit and for public benefit (and may also have charitable educational arms for example). We will soon be releasing more detail on these on our site.”
The Fundraising Regulator announced on 24 February that it would be launching a weekly consultation on the FPS between March and May, which they called ‘Have Your Say’.
The Fundraising Regulator did not say whether the status of campaigning and lobbying organisations in the context of the FPS would be part of its first weekly update which is scheduled for tomorrow.
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