Useful Links
Other regulators
Charity Commission
The Charity Commission is established by law as the regulator and registrar for charities in England and Wales. Its aim is to provide the best possible regulation of charities in England and Wales in order to increase charities' effectiveness and public confidence and trust.
Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator
OSCR is the independent regulator and registrar of Scottish Charities. Its vision is for a flourishing charity sector in which the public has confidence, underpinned by OSCR's effective delivery of its regulatory role.
Public Fundraising Regulatory Association
Dedicated to high standards of quality, transparency and integrity, the PFRA regulates the use of face-to-face fundraising by charities and professional fundraising organisations and works with local authorities to ensure that fundraising sites are used appropriately. It enforces a code of practice, which aims to make certain that people’s experience of face-to-face fundraising is positive, and uses an accreditation scheme, mystery shopping and feedback from stakeholders and members of the public to monitor our members’ compliance.
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
The ASA is the independent regulator for broadcast and non-broadcast advertisements, sales promotion and direct marketing in the UK.
Committee of Advertising Practice
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) writes and enforces the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (the CAP Code) which is referenced by the ASA when investigating complaints.
CAP offers Copy Advice, a free and confidential pre-publication advisory service designed to help organisations create non-broadcast marketing communications that comply with the CAP Code.
Direct Marketing Association
The Direct Marketing Association is the global trade association of business and nonprofit organizations using and supporting direct marketing tools and techniques. DMA advocates industry standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education, and networking opportunities to improve results throughout the entire direct marketing process.
Press Complaints Commission
The Press Complaints Commission is an independent body which deals with complaints from members of the public about the editorial content of newspapers and magazines
Office of Communications
Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.
Chartered Institute of Public Relations
The Institute is dedicated to raising standards within the industry. All members sign up to an enforced Code of Conduct, signalling their commitment to operating ethically, with integrity and transparency.
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Charity & voluntary sector bodies
Institute of Fundraising
The Institute of Fundraising is the professional membership body for UK fundraisers, working to promote the highest standards in fundraising practice and management.
National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
NCVO is a lobbying organisation representing the views of its members, and the wider voluntary sector to government, the European Union and other bodies. It also conducts research into, and analysis of, the voluntary sector. Charity Law and Regulation is a key area of NCVO’s work, ensuring that the sector has a legal and regulatory framework that meets the needs of charities – and the public – in the 21st Century
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO)
The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the national body representing the voluntary sector. It works to the following mission: SCVO seeks to advance the values and shared interests of the voluntary sector by fostering co-operation, promoting best practice and delivering sustainable services.
Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA)
NICVA is an umbrella organisation, seeking to represent the interests of voluntary and community organisations throughout Northern Ireland. In its role as a voluntary sector development agency, NICVA acts as a catalyst to promote innovation and new approaches to the challenge of social need.
Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA)
WCVA is the voice of the voluntary sector in Wales. It represents and campaigns for voluntary organisations, volunteers and communities.
Directory of Social Change (DSC)
The DSC was founded in 1975 and is an educational charity. It campaigns for an independant voluntary and community sector. DSC is the largest provider of information and training to the UK voluntary and community sectors.
Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO)
ACEVO is the professional body for the third sector’s chief executives, with 2000 members. Its mission is to connect, develop and represent the sector’s leaders, in order to increase the sector’s impact and efficiency.
Charity Finance Directors’ Group (CFDG)
The Charity Finance Directors' Group is a membership organisation set up in 1987 and specialises in helping charities to manage their accounting, taxation, audit and other finance related functions.
Charity Law Association (CLA)
The Charity Law Association aims to enable those who advise on or use charity law to meet together, to exchange ideas and intelligence and to use their experience and expertise for the benefit of the charity sector.
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)
CAF work to raise the profile of giving, lobby for tax breaks and provide an increasingly broad suite of services to charities and their supporters.
Association of Charity Shops
The Association of Charity Shops is a member organisation dedicated to supporting registered charities that run shops as part of their fundraising activites. They have developed a Code of Charity Retailing which will become mandatory for all members in 2008.
Guidestar
GuideStar UK provides a single, easily accessible source of detailed information about every charity and voluntary organisation in the UK. It will promote greater public understanding of the work of charities and how they are managed.
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Other useful sources of help
Trading Standards
Trading Standards work with consumers and businesses to maintain fair trading and safety for consumer goods. They work in partnership with Consumer Direct, a call centre based consumer advice service.
Citizens Advice
The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice from over 3,000 locations, and by influencing policymakers.
www.charityfacts.org
www.charityfacts.org provides general information on how charities are run and how fundraising works, with sections on specific forms of fundraising, plus ‘behind the scenes’ information on charity performance figures and how these should be used and interpreted.
National Consumer Council (NCC)
The NCC has examined and assessed the nature of self-regulation over a number of years and works to promote effective self-regulation. It has developed good practice guidelines on self-regulation.
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