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Please provide any comments you have on the redrafted code rules below. You can comment on as many rules as are relevant to you. You can also save your responses and return to them later.

You can see how rules in the current code relate to the redrafted code in the Table of Changes.

The supporting documents include Code Compliance Guides which will help you understand how to meet the requirements of the redrafted code, and a Glossary with definitions of specific terms in the redrafted rules.

9. Fundraising communications and advertisements

This section covers standards related to promoting your fundraising. It also includes standards for fundraising over the phone, by post and through direct messages.

Many fundraising communications take the form of advertisements and so are subject to the requirements of The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code) and The UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code) which are administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA offers a range of advice and resources which can help charitable institutions ensure their advertising complies with their codes.

The ASA's codes do not cover all forms of fundraising communication, such as live communication, over telephone, or in person, but these are covered by wider consumer protection laws (such as the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015). All forms of fundraising communication are expected to meet the standards set out in this section.

9.1 General standards

In this section, ‘you’ means a charitable institution or third-party fundraiser. 

9.1.1

You must ensure the content and methods of delivery for your fundraising communications are responsible and suitable for the people they are aimed at.

9.1.2

You must not use claims or images in your fundraising communications that people may find shocking merely to attract attention. If you do use shocking content, you should include warnings about this.

9.1.3

You must ensure information about charitable institutions and fundraising activities is accurate in fundraising communications.

Further Guidance

Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF): Accuracy and clarity in fundraising

Government Digital Service: Make your public sector website or app accessible

Case Studies

9.1.4

You must be able to show that all case studies are representative of real situations. If details have been changed in a case study, you must make this clear.

9.1.5

You must get a person's clear and informed permission before using them as a case study.

If the person has died, you must take all reasonable steps to get permission from their estate.


Enclosures

9.1.6

You must take due care when including enclosures in fundraising materials. This includes ensuring enclosures:

  • strengthen your message and do not encourage a donation based on guilt or embarrassment;

  • are safe for the person receiving them; and

  • are delivered in a way that does not cause undue inconvenience.

Legal Requirements for Fundraising Communications

You are legally required to ensure your fundraising communications comply with trade mark and copyright law - including The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and The Trade Marks Act 1994 - and get appropriate permissions to use images, logos etc from the rights holders.

Your public advertisements are legally required to comply with:

9.2 Required information in fundraising communications and online content

In this section, ‘you’ means a charitable institution or third-party fundraiser. 

As well as your main website, you may have other related websites or microsites created for specific campaigns or events. This section covers all websites which host fundraising activity and online media you control, such as social media accounts.

9.2.1

You must ensure your contact details and information about how you process personal data is easily accessible on your website and any environment where you collect personal data.

9.2.2

If you are fundraising in partnership with one or more charitable institutions, you must state how the money will be split between the organisations.

Legal Requirements for Fundraising Documents

For Charities

Section 39 of the Charities Act 2011 outlines the information which registered charities in England and Wales with an income over £10,000 per year are legally required to include in fundraising documents.

In Scotland, information required in documents relating to registered charities (including SCIOs) is outlined in:

For Registered Companies (including charitable companies and Community Interest Companies)

The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 outline the legal requirements for registered companies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Companies House also provides guidance on information which must appear in signs, stationery and promotional material.

Section 112(6) of The Companies Act 1989 and The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 outlines the legal requirements for documents relating to registered companies in Scotland.

For CIOs

Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) are also required to state their names in every document and location in which a charitable company would be required to state its name under The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015. This obligation is set out in Section 211 of the Charities Act 2011.

Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIOs) are covered by the rules above "For Charities".

9.3 Fundraising Calls

In this section, ‘you’ means a charitable institution or third-party fundraiser. 

This section includes all fundraising calls and voicemails that are made to ask for financial and other types of donations, such as volunteering time. It does not include administrative calls (although you can use these standards as guidance for those calls).

9.3.1

You must not make fundraising calls:

  • To anyone you have reason to believe is under 16;

  • After 9pm except to people who have asked you to call after then; or

  • By dialling random numbers generated manually or automatically


9.3.2

At the start of a fundraising call, you must:

  • Check the person is happy for you to contact them at that time; and

  • Make clear you are asking for financial or other support (this includes when leaving a voicemail)


9.3.3

You must ensure your fundraising calls are conducted responsibly. This includes:

  • Not asking for a financial contribution more than three times in a single call.


Legal Requirements for Fundraising Calls

The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR) outlines a number of legal requirements relating to telephone communications which will be relevant in the context of fundraising calls. During fundraising calls, you are legally required to:

  • Give your name and the name of the charitable institution you are fundraising for;

  • Make calls from a number which can be identified by the person receiving it and which they can use to return a call;

  • Provide a valid business address or Freephone number to contact you, on request; and

  • Provide an appropriate solicitation statement if you are a professional fundraiser asking for donations.

During fundraising calls, you are legally prohibited to:

  • Make automated phone calls, or use an automated dialling system (unless you have the person's consent to do this);

  • Make silent or abandoned calls;

  • Call someone again if they have indicated they are not happy for you to contact them in a first call; or

  • Claim that marketing calls are administrative calls.

These are just key examples and do not represent all the requirements of PECR. Ofcom has provided specific guidance on Persistent Misuse of Electronic Communications which includes information about silent calls and other types of nuisance call.

9.4 Opt Outs and Consent

In this section, ‘you’ means a charitable institution or third-party fundraiser. 

9.4.1

You must ensure that fundraising communications are not sent to people who have indicated they do not wish to receive them.

This includes checking your own communication information against lists of people who have previously indicated they do not wish to receive fundraising communications, such as:


9.4.2

You must be able to justify how often you contact people, balancing the need to communicate with not overwhelming or bombarding people.


9.4.3

You must use a simple opt-out message for people to tell you if they don't want to receive messages from you. This includes offering an option to reply to mobile messages to opt out.

Legal Requirements on Opt Outs and Consent

The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR). Under PECR, fundraising communications via email and mobile messages are legally required to:

  • Only be sent to people who have provided consent beforehand;

  • Include clear procedures for how people can subscribe and unsubscribe;

  • Offer a method to opt out of marketing messages at no extra cost; and

  • Include clear information on costs associated with any premium-rate messages.

Guidance on Opt Outs and Consent

For more information on consent and processing personal data in the context of UK GDPR and PECR see Section 3 Processing Data.

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