Fundraising for an Emergency: Updated Charity Commission Guidance

The Charity Commission have recently updated their guidance on fundraising (CC20) and emergency appeals guidance (CC40), with the aim of helping trustees better understand their responsibilities to their charity. This is especially relevant at a time when charities are seeing an increased demand for their services.

The fundraising guidance (CC20), whilst shorter than the previous version, continues to focus on key areas, such as planning and supervising fundraisers, the content of a fundraiser, and protecting a charity’s reputation and funds. Please also note that the Fundraising Regulator’s updated Code of Fundraising Practice came into effect last November, and should be consulted alongside the Charity Commission guidance.

The Commission also recognises the essential role that charities continue to play in emergency situations, The updated CC40 guidance aims to ensure trustees understand if, and how, their charities can respond to a crisis, which we have summarised below.

Fundraising for an emergency:

Ability to respond

You must ensure that your charity is able to respond. You can only raise funds for your charity’s purposes or objects, which may limit who your charity can support and in what geographical area your charity can operate. If your charity can only support inhabitants of a particular town, trustees or volunteers may still wish to provide assistance in response to an emergency.

In such circumstances, the Commission advises that they may direct donors to the appeals of other charities whose purposes allow them to respond to the emergency. Alternatively, they may collect donations for those appeals in a personal capacity. However, any such funds must not be banked by your charity or collected in its name.

A quick response

Emergencies require a quick response, so it is important that there is clarity with what your charity will do with the money raised. Look to CC20 for guidance on the wording of your appeal. Will your charity support the work of other emergency relief organisations, or will it carry out relief work directly?

Before opting for the latter, trustees should consider the size and nature of the emergency, their own skills and expertise, the capacity of the charity and whether, actually, it would be more effective to pass the funds onto an organisation better suited to respond to the emergency. You should of course ensure to carry out appropriate checks and risk assessments on any organisation your charity sends money or resources to, particularly if they are an overseas body.

Stick to the code

Your charity must comply with any relevant law and as advised above, follow the Fundraising Code. Your charity must be open and accountable about its fundraising and deal with any risks or concerns promptly and appropriately. Trustees should ensure they comply with any restrictions that apply to your appeal.

They should also consider including a secondary purpose in the appeal. This should explain what will happen to any remaining funds if you raise more money than required, do not raise enough to carry out the work set out in the appeal, or are unable to spend the funds as originally intended. For more information on secondary purposes see the Code of Fundraising Practice.

If you require any further advice, please contact our Charities Team.