27/09/10
A news item in the Manchester Evening News (MEN) on Friday 17 September 2010 reported that Manchester City Council was considering developing a ‘code of conduct’ for street fundraisers, which would have two objectives:
- Set rules on how fundraisers should conduct themselves
- Set up designated areas where fundraising can take place.
The MEN article claimed that the code would be the first of its kind in the county, an assertion that was repeated in subsequent TV and radio reports and local government trade media.
This is not the case. The facts are:
Code of practice
A code of practice for face-to-face fundraisers has been in existence since 2000. It is one of 29 codes of practice developed by the Institute of Fundraising that sets out best practice requirements for all types of fundraising methods and practice, included cash collections, charity events, direct mail and telephone, among others.
This code is part of mainstream self-regulatory practice for charity fundraisers. Compliance with the code is obligatory on all members of the Institute of Fundraising, and all members of the PFRA (irrespective of whether they are members of the IoF), and all subcontractors to PFRA members (irrespective of whether they are PFRA members).
It is enforced by the PFRA, while the Fundraising Standards Board acts as the ultimate ombudsman for any alleged breaches of the code.
Designated sites for fundraising
PFRA operates a system of site management agreements (SMAs) that set conditions on where and when fundraisers may visit a locality and how many fundraisers may attend. We have SMAs with 39 local authorities and looser arrangements, such as diary reporting, with many more.
We are delighted to say that we will be meeting with MCC and Cityco during October and are confident our discussions will develop to the satisfaction of all parties.
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