Former Registration Service Manager at the Fundraising Regulator
You might have noticed something a little different about our website recently, as we streamlined our registration pages last month. These changes are part of the wider preparations for the start of our new financial year and the new Fundraising Levy year, both of which start on 1 September 2022.
What has not changed
Our charity registration scheme is based on the amount charities spend on their fundraising, as recorded in their recently published accounts. If your charity spends £100,000 or more, we will invite it to pay the Fundraising Levy each year from September. If your charity spends under £100,000, you can apply to register with us to demonstrate your commitment to good practice.
My team carries out a large-scale analysis of charity accounts around April for organisations that are eligible to pay the levy. We also check the accounts of charities that register with us at the time they apply, as well as re-checking on a monthly basis those whose registration is soon due for renewal. These checks help us to make sure that charity fee bands continue to be in line with expenditure.
What has changed
Previously we had separate forms for larger and smaller fundraising charities to complete to register with us. Using feedback from registrants, we have replaced this with one application process for all charities. We have also reviewed the language on this page, clarified information about our non charity application process and explained more prominently how we calculate our fees.
We made these changes as we recognised some organisations were not sure which application route to follow, as our definition of fundraising expenditure can be quite technical. This streamlined approach makes it simpler to apply and means my team can more easily assess and identify which fee band is appropriate. We hope that this will improve the experience for future applicants.
Renewing your charity registration
We have not changed our renewal processes. We are currently sending out invoices to those organisations that are eligible to pay the Fundraising Levy 2022/23. Smaller fundraising charities will continue to receive an invoice to renew their registration each year, close to the anniversary of their joining our registration scheme.
When my team reviewed the accounts of charities in the levy, we saw a drop in overall fundraising expenditure compared to our last assessment. As such, though around 70% of levy-paying organisations will be in the same fee band as last year, around 20% have moved down a band. We believe this is most likely due to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact in reducing spend on some types of fundraising activities, such as mass participation events.
As we base our fees on published accounts, the expenditure in the reported financial year may not reflect what is happening in your current financial year, especially as charities may be spending more on activities that were previously paused or restricted. Therefore, some organisations may go down a fee band this year but return to their previous fee band for the 2023/24 levy year. So, I would advise that organisations budget accordingly for this.
Please refer to our registration pages for more information. You can email us with any specific questions about the levy to levy@fundraisingregulator.org.uk.