New Code of Fundraising Practice 2025
The new Code of Fundraising Practice was published in May and will take effect on 1 November 2025. Charities are within the transition period to review the new Code and update their policies and procedures to ensure compliance with it. The Code is intended to be simpler to use, adaptable, and appropriate for modern fundraising.
The Fundraising Regulator has produced a table of changes which sets out the changes made to each rule in the new Code in comparison to the current 2019 Code. Along with this, there are Code support guides available on three key areas: Documenting fundraising decisions, Due diligence and fundraising, and Monitoring fundraising partners, which are all important for senior leaders, trustees, and fundraisers.
We have summarised some of the key top tips from each of the support guides to help your organisation in understanding how to confidently and effectively meet the Code's requirements:
1. Documenting your fundraising decisions
- Make reasonable decisions using available and relevant information to show that they are in the best interests of the charity.
- Document fundraising decisions at the time they are made, and keep records accurate, accessible and up to date.
- Keep written records of conflicts of interest, risk assessments, professional advice sought, and any due diligence that has been carried out relating to fundraising activities.
- Check your charity's data retention policy for retention periods on decision-making.
- Be open and honest in your fundraising communications about the direct and indirect impact of your fundraising activity.
- Keep written records of any concerns and complaints including how you responded, lessons learnt, and how you will prevent the situation happening again.
- Be clear with donors on what will happen to their donation if either too much or too little money is raised, or if the funds cannot be used as intended.
2. Due diligence and fundraising
- Conduct appropriate due diligence on donors, gifts, and fundraising partners.
- Check that donors are not subject to sanctions or restrictions.
- Be alert to any form of inappropriate, unusual or suspicious behaviour.
- Report any safeguarding concerns or suspicious activity to the police or other appropriate authorities, and if applicable to the Charity Commission as a serious incident report.
- Ensure you have a written agreement in place with any professional fundraisers or commercial participators you work with.
- Have in place safeguarding policies and procedures.
- Carry out appropriate checks on people working or volunteering with you including third-party fundraisers.
- Have a written agreement in place with third-party fundraisers which requires them to carry out checks on those they work with to fundraise on your charity's behalf.
- For house-to-house fundraising collectors, check that individuals meet the 'fit and proper person' requirement.
3. Monitoring your fundraising partner
- Have effective processes in place to monitor your fundraising partners.
- Conduct more frequent and thorough monitoring when the risk is higher.
- Ensure that fundraising partners are appropriate to work with before you enter into an agreement with them.
- Consider the values, objectives, policies, activities and ways of working of fundraising partners before you agree to work with them.
- Conduct more frequent and thorough monitoring when the risk is higher.
- The agreement with your fundraising partner should be clear on how you will manage and monitor their performance as well as any subcontractors.
- Check that agreements include other key elements such as fundraising activity being carried out, milestones and performance indicators, and grounds for termination and suspension.
- Designate a named person to lead on monitoring fundraising partners and compliance with the Code and the law.
- Ensure you have the appropriate knowledge, skills, and experience to monitor activity in a fair, legal, and accurate manner.
- Be clear on how you will be involved in any training that your fundraising partners provide to those who assist or conduct fundraising on behalf of the charity.
- Regularly review and learn from complaints, issues, and feedback from all stakeholders.
The new Code provides precise, useful advice to assist charities in better managing these important relationships and protect themselves from issues that have in the past lead to regulatory action and reputational damage. The updates to the Code aim to preserve public trust in charities, and protect your charity's interests while generating the money it needs to carry out the crucial work it does.
Should you require any advice on updating your fundraising policies and procedures, or reviewing fundraising agreements with current and potential partners, please do get in touch.