updated guidance for charities: charities and fundraising and
reporting serious incidents
New guidance on fundraising has been published by The Charity
Commission. 'Charities and Fundraising, which is available from the
Charity Commission website, will help charities comply with legal
requirements and best practice when fundraising, guaranteeing that
all funds are used for the purposes in which they have been raised.
Risk management and advice for trustees when considering which
fundraising method to use are all included. Advice is also given on
common problems which can arise.
Clarification of how the self regulation of fundraising sits
alongside the Commission's regulation of charity law is also
included in the guide. Details can be found on self-regulatory
fundraising bodies and industry developed Codes of Fundraising
Practice.
New guidance has also been published on reporting serious
incidents. Trustees, or parties to whom this responsibility has
been delegated, should report serious incidents to the Commission
as soon as they become aware of them. 'Reporting Serious
Incidents', which is also available from the Charity Commission
website, provides an explanation as to why trustees need to report
cases of actual or suspected harm of beneficiaries to the
commission in addition to other agencies which have a regulatory
interest. A more in-depth detailed explanation of the Commissions
role is also included in the guidance.
The Commission expects trustees to act responsibly and
appropriately when managing such incidents, to take reasonable
steps to prevent them from happening again and to efficiently
manage any risks to the charity.
As a matter of best practice, the Commission recommends that
trustees of all charities report any serious incidents to the
Commission. As part of the annual return for charities with an
income over £25000, trustees must sign a declaration that there are
no serious incidents that should have been brought to the
Commissions attention but have not. If charities are incapable of
making this declaration then the annual return is not complete and
their legal responsibilities will not have been met.
The newly updated guidance for trustees describes which
incidents are serious and should be reported, how trustees are able
to do this, and the precise information the Commission
requires.
The updated guidance now also provides:
- detailed clarification on reporting fraud, theft, and other
significant loss of funds or property
- detailed explanation of the Commission's role and regulatory
remit and how this relates to other agencies
- guidance on how trustees can report to the Commission when
serious incidents occur regularly in their charity
- a section about safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
accompanied with information on the Independent Safeguarding
Authority and the Vetting and Barring Scheme
- clarification about the confidentiality of serious incident
reports
Read
the fundraising guidance on the Carity Commission web
site.
Read the serious incidents guidance on the Charity Commission web
site.
