Today we published our annual report and accounts for 2018/19, which highlights the progress made to raise standards in fundraising.
Reflecting on the past year, we are pleased that the sector has worked with us to improve public trust and perceptions of fundraising.
Some of our key achievements are: 96% of fundraising organisations are now voluntarily choosing to pay the fundraising levy, demonstrating support for regulation of their activities. Charities are continuing to use the Fundraising Preference Service (FPS), which allows members of the public to opt out of receiving unwanted communications from charities. And, the charities we investigated following complaints from members of the public are accepting our recommendations to improve the way that they fundraise.
This comes after our research found that 90% of the public agree that the Fundraising Regulator and Code of Fundraising Practice, which sets out the standards for charity fundraising, perform important roles.
Other key findings from the annual report include:
- 3,597 charities are now registered with us, up from 3,000 last year.
- Online platforms are increasingly supportive of voluntary regulation, and 16 are now registered with us.
- 8,719 suppression requests were received through the FPS.
- 757 complaints from members of the public have been resolved in the past year.
Lord Toby Harris, Chair of the Fundraising Regulator, said:
“Since I became Chair in January 2019, I have seen record numbers of charities paying the levy and organisations registering with us. This clear demonstration of support from fundraising organisations shows the appetite for voluntary regulation from across the sector. Charities have made excellent progress since 2016 and are working hard to build public trust and confidence in their fundraising activities.”
Key highlights from the annual report will be presented today at our annual accountability event, which brings together 150 senior representatives from charities and fundraising organisations to discuss the steps taken to improve public trust in fundraising.
The annual report, together with a shorter annual review focusing on key highlights, is available on our website.