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The Fundraising Standards Board is a body which has been set up to enable voluntary organisations to self-regulate their fundraising activities.

All charities, voluntary and community organisations, trusts, businesses and consultants that are involved in fundraising should join the scheme.

Organisations should join if they receive financial donations, gifts in kind, services or facilities:

• From members of the public, founders, members, patrons, supporters or businesses
• Through collections, appeals, legacies, events, payroll giving, sponsorship, online giving or through the fundraising efforts of others

Organisations should also join if they:

• Have members who pay a subscription to join or to retain their membership

• By becoming a member of the Fundraising Standards Board scheme you are showing the public, and your members, that you are committed to high standards in fundraising
• Using the tick logo on your website and materials will reassure donors that you engage in best practice
• Following the Fundraising Promise means the public can trust you and will help you build strong, long-lasting relationships with donors
• Having a complaints process in place means you can deal with any problems efficiently and effectively

Findings from consumer research carried out by YouGov plc and Which? showed that:

• Almost 6 in 10 (58%) people said they would be more likely to donate to a charity if they knew it was a member of the Fundraising Standards Board scheme
• After hearing about the Fundraising Standards Board's new Fundraising Promise (pdf), confidence levels in member charities rose among donors to 82%

The scheme membership fee structure is on a sliding scale based on your level of voluntary income. Fees for smaller organisations are as follows:

Members of the Fundraising Standards Board scheme are required to:

• Follow the Institute of Fundraising's Codes of Fundraising Practice and the Fundraising Promise (pdf)
• Use the Fundraising Standards Board scheme logo on all their fundraising materials and other publications wherever practical and promote the Fundraising Promise on literature and websites
• Ensure their organisation has a procedure for dealing with fundraising complaints from the public and appoint a complaints coordinator. Information on how to make a complaint should be made available in writing (and/or on their website)

Visit the FSB website www.fsboard.org.uk/scotlandnorthernireland to view the full terms and conditions of membership (pdf).

No. As the Fundraising Standards Board scheme was set up by and for the sector, it is designed to be 'light touch' and avoid adding unnecessarily to your workload.

You will only have to complete a single yearly complaints record reporting the number and nature of any fundraising complaints received. You will be provided with a simple template document which you can use for this report and CVS Fife or VONEF can help you if necessary.

OSCR only deals with cases relating to Charities and Charity Law, for example, where donations are being used for something other than an organisation's charitable purposes. The Fundraising Standards Board is responsible for helping its members to regulate complaints about the way they are fundraising and membership is not restricted to registered charities.

Contact Lyndsay Macadam CVS Fife & VONEF's Fundraising Standards Board Project Worker

CVS Fife - Tel: 01592 567001
VONEF - Tel: 01334 654080
Email: fsb@cvsfife.org