Face-to-face fundraising guidance updated by Chartered Institute of Fundraising
Howard Lake | 28 July 2025 | News
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIOF) has published new guidance designed to strengthen best practice and accountability in face-to-face fundraising across the sector.
The updated guidance is a response to the Fundraising Regulator’s Market Inquiry into sub-contracting in face-to-face fundraising (published in March 2024), and other evolving fundraising practices. It sets out clear expectations for charities and fundraising agencies, with new sections covering sub-contracting arrangements, safeguarding of fundraisers, transparent job advertising and robust due diligence.
The update is the first major revision of face-to-face guidance in the UK since 2016.
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It provides advice for charity leaders and trustees on how they should
- manage outsourced fundraising responsibly
- understand and ensure transparency in payment models
- and protect frontline workers through fair working conditions, whistleblowing policies, and support in potentially isolated roles like door-to-door fundraising.
Public Fundraising Advisory Panel
As part of the guidance process the Chartered Institute of Fundraising set up the Public Fundraising Advisory Panel, which is made up of representatives from 12 charities.
Claire Stanley, director of policy and communications at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, explained what the Institute had undertaken. She said:
“Working closely with our membership, and our Public Fundraising Advisory Panel in particular, we have created an in-depth piece of guidance exploring the relationship between charity and agency, highlighting best practice in adherence to the Code. The Fundraising Regulator has been clear that trustees and senior leaders of any charity engaging in face-to-face fundraising need to be aware of which organisation is representing them, and we have set that out in this guidance.
“We have also set out expectations for the safeguarding of fundraisers within this guidance – that they have fair working conditions, full transparency over payment models, and that they are being fairly and appropriately remunerated for the work they are doing, and the hours they have worked. In addition to this, we expect policies to be in place to safeguard fundraisers in the field – particularly if they are participating in more isolated roles like door-to-door fundraising. Appropriate whistleblowing policies should also be in place to ensure that fundraisers feel safe to raise concerns if they have them”.
She thanked all who had been involved in developing this work and publication.
Jim Tebbett, head of proactive regulation and projects at the Fundraising Regulator, welcomed the updated guidance, saying:
“This new guidance supports charities and agencies to build strong, transparent, and accountable fundraising partnerships: something our inquiry showed is essential to maintain public trust in the sector. Many charities and agencies have already taken steps to learn from and implement the recommendations from the market inquiry, and this guidance will help them to continue to do so.”
A Guide to Charity-Agency Partnerships and Payment Models can be downloaded from the CIOF website.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.