Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, has said it is not the role of the regulator to fetter those who wish to set up charities.
Etherington's comments follow Charity Commission guidance which encourages people to “think carefully” before setting up a charity and ICAEW's call for a change in the law to allow the Charity Commission to refuse a charity registration when a similar charity already exists.
The comments appear in a letter to NCVO members, sent out this week, which replaces his usual state of the sector address at NCVO's annual conference, Evolve.
He begins his letter warning charities that time is “rapidly running out” for organisations wanting to influence political parties’ manifestos for 2015.
He also says that the Lobbying Act is “unfinished business”. He says while small-scale campaigning is unlikely to be unaffected by it after charity lobbying, he adds: “I fear unnecessary self-censorship amid the fog of uncertainty”.
He says NCVO will monitor the impact of the Lobbying Act and it will take action to redress any damage it does to charities’ “legitimate right to campaign”.
He also says he is starting to sense some optimism in the charity sector, and that employment and volunteering levels are up.
He says the Charity Commission is still registering new charities at a prodigious rate.
“I am in no doubt: I think people getting together to start charities is a good thing," he says. "Such initiative helps to keep our sector fresh and evolving – it is not the role of the regulator to fetter them”.
Never feel coy about asking for money
Sir Stuart ends the letter focusing on public scrutiny on the charity sector. “We cannot ignore the fact that a section of the public feels uneasy about some of our activities to generate income, whether fundraising methods or investment decisions," he says.
“We need money and we should never feel coy about it.”
He says charities need to “strike a balance every day” between raising money and keeping integrity which is “equally crucial”.
He says transparency is necessary and desirable. “We need to strengthen our communications about how and why we make decisions such as how to fundraise or who to work in partnership. And, amid limited public understanding, we need a stronger story about how modern charity works.”
