Street fundraising
System of points will begin from 20 August, but a similar scheme for doorstep fundraising is delayed
Charities and agencies will be fined for flouting street fundraising rules from 20 August, the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association has said.
Under the new regime, charities or agencies will receive penalty points of 20, 50 or 100 for breaching the Institute of Fundraising’s Code of Fundraising Practice and the PFRA’s rule book. Once a charity or agency hits a 1,000-point threshold, it will face a fine of £1 per point. For example, if it has accumulated 1,450 penalty points it would be fined £1,450.
The penalty points regime was due to begin in April, but was delayed while the institute reviewed its codes of practice.
Last year, the PFRA announced plans to fine charities and agencies that breached rules for street and doorstep fundraising. It published new rule books for both fundraising techniques and set out the penalty points system.
But no date has been set for the introduction of a penalty points system for doorstep fundraising. Ian MacQuillin, head of communications at the PFRA, said: "The trial of the doorstep rule book started two months after the street trial. So we will want to spend some time bedding in the new street rules, which are more pressing, and then look to make the doorstep rule book live some time after that."
