How ethical fundraising is ensured in your organization?

Abstract

Catch22 is a national charity with an income of approximately £44m. It has a complex structure based around the local delivery of a range of different services and projects for young people that are not centrally funded, but are financed largely through contracting arrangements with statutory bodies. This makes fundraising from a central team unwieldy and means that much of the work is devolved to regional and local level. Therefore it is crucial to have robust, ethical fundraising policies in place to allow for this delegated role for non-specialist fundraisers.

However, whilst there is a clearly recognized need within the central fundraising and communications team to provide this sort of comprehensive ethical guidance, it does not exist in a single, coherent policy document. In actual fact, Catch22 does mention or use the phrase “ethical fundraising” in any of its documentation, although it is implied in what currently exists, and the term is often used in meetings. Catch22 certainly has policies around ethics in terms of the treatment of its young people and equality and diversity. We have a Bid and Tender Policy (as much of our work is delivered through bid processes), Funds Raised by Young People Policy, and fundraising is mentioned explicitly in our Code of Conduct, Volunteer Policy and Young Persons Policy. All of these documents give clear guidance as to what is acceptable behavior with regards to the raising of funds in the name of Catch22, and who is accountable at each stage in terms of management or local service delivery.