Honesty in Fundraising

There are many principles to bear in mind when fundraising, but by far the most important is that of honesty. No matter who you are or what you are fundraising for, you need to be as upfront and honest with donors as possible. The more transparent the sector is with the public, the more trust and confidence the public will have in the sector.

Remember that money has to be used as intended by donors. If you raise money for a specific purpose, you have to use the money for this purpose. It is often helpful to include a secondary purpose when asking for money to allow more flexibility in spending the money. For example, if you are raising money to buy a certain piece of equipment you could say that any money which cannot be spent on that piece of equipment will be donated to charity x. This can be particularly useful if you raise too much or too little money, or if circumstances change.

Codes of Fundraising Practice

The Institute has created the Accountability and Transparency Code of Fundraising Practice which provides guidance on how to interact with potential donors and the type of information that should be shared.

Read the Accountability and Transparency Code of Fundraising Practice

The Codes of Fundraising Practice highlight the law and best practice for a range of fundraising techniques. All of the Codes are available online. The Acceptance or Refusal of Donations Code may be particularly relevant in this area. The Code highlights circumstances where you may or may not wish to accept donations and can help you communicate your reasoning with donors.

Read the Acceptance or Refusal of Donations Code of Fundraising Practice.

Find out more about the Codes of Fundraising Practice.

Other Institute Resources

One reason that honesty in fundraising is so important is because fundraising organisations depend on public trust and confidence if they are to fundraise from the public. Unfortunately, the fundraising sector does occasionally fall victim to fraud and scams. The Institute has created a page with information on scams, helping organisations to avoid falling victim to such schemes.

Find out more about scams.

Further Information

The ImpACT Coalition was set up to promote honesty and transparency within the sector and to promote understanding of how charities work and how they benefit society.

Find out more about the ImpACT Coalition.

The self-regulation of fundraising is overseen by the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB). Members of the scheme show their committment to best practice by displaying the 'Give with Confidence' tick. This can reassure donors of the validity of your fundraising.

Find out more about the Fundraising Standards Board.

Find out more about the 'Give with Confidence' tick.

Find out more about the self-regulation of fundraising.