Review of fundraising briefing

Informal review of charity fundraising in Scotland 29 July 2015 The Scottish Government asked SCVO to undertake an informal review of public charity fundraising in Scotland to assess whether the existing framework for self-regulation of fundraising practice is sufficient to protect public confidence and trust in charities in Scotland. The review will report back by end of August.  

Purpose & aim

The purpose of the review is to identify whether the Scottish public, Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament can have confidence that the current system of charity fundraising self-regulation is working and if not recommend how it can be strengthened in Scotland. The aim of the review is to help Scottish Government Ministers make informed decisions on the future of public charity fundraising in Scotland.  

Review remit

In Scotland the charity brand continues to be strong. We enjoy high levels of public trust, which thousands of organisations rely on for donations and volunteers. It is essential that we maintain high levels of trust, as without high quality fundraising, many thousands of people in Scotland would lose out on vital support and help from charities. This is a key reason why the wider third sector and the fundraising ‘industry’ must tackle bad fundraising behaviour. The main questions for the review include:

• Can the Scottish public, Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament have confidence that the current system of self-regulation is working and if not how can it be strengthened in Scotland?
• What reasonable steps can we recommend to strengthen public trust, taking proper steps to root out bad practice and provide a transparent charity fundraising environment in Scotland?

• Is there a framework with robust governance, clear standards and good operating practice which protects the public, allows charities to fundraise effectively but hits bad practice hard?

 

Methodology

SCVO has consulted and engaged with the Scottish Government, OSCR and the Institute of Fundraising Scotland on the review, its remit and lines of inquiry. We have also been in regular contact with NCVO and the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB). We have established a reference group chaired by a member of SCVO's Policy Committee to oversee the process of the informal review. Members include: Paul Brown: Chief Executive, Legal Services Agency (Chair) Billy Watson: Chief Executive, SAMH Fiona Duncan: Chief Executive, Lloyd's/TSB Foundation John Brady: Head of Fundraising, St Andrews Hospice Alison Greig: Development Team, Citizen’s Advice Scotland Theresa Shearer: Chief Executive, Enable The purpose of the group will be to:

• Bring insights and experience of the third sector to the issues surrounding fundraising and the remit of the inquiry
• Help identify whom the inquiry should be consulting with
• Consider the draft review report and its recommendations

The reference group and report will be informed by:

• Review of the current codes (OSCR, FRSB, Institute of Fundraising, Public Fundraising regulatory Association and other relevant reports
• A focus group
• Six to eight one-to-one informal interviews
• Information and views from organisations the public may currently make complaints to i.e. Trading Standards, OSCR and FRSB
• Research undertaken by SCVO, including a survey to gauge and collate views from across the sector

SCVO will ensure that through a survey (to go live on week commencing 3 August), its own networks and TFN that the wider third sector has an opportunity to contribute to the review. This approach is designed to be as robust and inclusive as possible given the very the short time we have to carry out the review. The report will be sent to the SCVO Board of Trustees for final approval before submission to Scottish Government by the end of August.  

Your views

  If you have any views on public charity fundraising in Scotland which you’d like to share with the review, please email research@scvo.scot