Regulation of Fundraising by Charities through Legislation and Codes of Good Practice

The Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs (CEGA) is currently in the process of implementing the Charities Act 2009 in order to ensure accountability and protect against the abuse of charitable status and fraud. One of the most important areas covered by the legislation is fundraising by charities.

The Charities Act 2009 adopts a three-pronged approach to regulating charitable fundraising, which will mean:

• All types of fundraising from the public in public places will require permits
• A new Charity Regulator will be appointed and all charities will have to give full details of fundraising activities to the regulator in annual reports and returns
• The operational and administrative aspects of fundraising will be regulated by agreed Codes of Practice to be developed with the sector.

The Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs entered an agreement with Irish Charities Tax Research Ltd to carry out research and make recommendations on how the operational aspects of charitable fundraising can be effectively regulated through Codes of Good Practice.

A Steering Committee was established to oversee the research study and approve the outputs. The members were chosen for their expertise and served on the Steering Committee in a personal capacity.

To assist with the project, ICTRL commissioned the Centre for Nonprofit Management in Trinity College Dublin to provide an up to date picture of fundraising by the charitable sector in Ireland and independent consultant Peter Cassells to undertake a feasibility study on the development of Codes of Practice for charitable fundraising as follows:

1. Fundraising Practice
   The Centre for Nonprofit Management in Trinity College Dublin compiled a report on current fundraising practises in Ireland, giving a clear picture of the situation as it stands. The report entitled Exploring the Irish Fundraising Landscape – a report on the practice and scale of charitable fundraising from the public in Ireland was published in April 2007.
2. Regulation of Fundraising by Codes of Good Practice
   Independent consultant Peter Cassells undertook a feasibility study on the development of the new codes of practice - in consultation with the charities sector, the general public and with public bodies that provide funding to charities. The final report Regulation of Fundraising by charities through legislation and codes of practice was published in May 2008.
3. Statement of Guiding Principles for Fundraising
   During the consultation it was proposed that the charities sector should take the lead in developing the Codes of Practice with independent input.  Siobhan McGee was commissioned to work with charitable fundraisers to develop Guiding Principles in order to demonstrate the capacity of the sector to meet this requirement.

 Steering Committee

A Steering Committee was established to oversee the research study and approve the outputs. The members were chosen for their expertise and served on the Steering Committee in a personal capacity.