Regulating Charities

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Regulating Charities Services and Supports for
Charities During and after the Transition
January 2009 Ivan Cooper Director of Advocacy
The Wheel, 10 Grattan Crescent, Inchicore, Dublin
8. www.wheel.ie info_at_wheel.ie
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Towards 2016

• Commitment in Section 34 of agreement
• Government accepts that support will be required
  for charities to meet their obligations in the
  new regulatory environment, and in bringing in
  this new regulation, Government commits that
  additional resources to assist the sector in this
  transition will be made available.

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Towards 2016

• The modalities of this support will be decided
  following consultation with the CV Sector after
  the legislation has been approved by the
  Oireachtas.

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The Wheels 2008 Research

• Conducted to inform Governments planned
  consultation exercise
• Independent researcher Brian Harvey commissioned
• Survey 500 CV organizations (n233, 47), 40
  interviews, examination experience in UK regions
• Assess specific needs arising from imminent
  arrival of Charities Bill

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The Wheels Research

• 99 of community and voluntary organisations
  surveyed are aware of the Charities Bill.
• 75 of large organisations are ready to meet the
  requirements of the Bill
• However, 60 of smaller organizations are not
  ready (suggesting that these organisations should
  be prioritized for assistance)
• Concentrate help on smaller groups.

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What Supports will be Required?

• The forms of assistance and support which
  community and voluntary organisations will need
  are
• internet based information
• printed materials
• one-to-one advice and support.
• Assistance and support is required in the areas
  of
• reporting
• procedural requirements
• accounts and
• the obligations of trustees.

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Supports Required

• Information products required include
• information sheets
• checklists
• very clear guides
• Information should be tailored to the different
  roles performed in different types of
  organisations (e.g. managers, staff and board
  members of unincorporated associations, limited
  companies, trusts and cooperatives).

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Supports Required

• A single contact point / information point and an
  advice line/ help line is required
• Training events - supplemented by information
  events - are a definite need
• Support must specifically be brought to smaller,
  community-based organisations in county locations
• It is expected that there will be a surge in
  demand for support for about three years around
  its introduction

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Culture of Regulator

• The crucial issue of the style and approach the
  culture - of the regulator was strongly
  emphasized in the report
• surveyed organizations want a supportive
  regulator, not a bureaucratic and officious
  regulator

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How Should Support Be Provided?

• the research also looked at how the required
  support should be provided when the new
  legislation comes in.
• organisations surveyed believe that assistance
  should be provided by a mix of both statutory and
  voluntary bodies
• but that the additional supports should be fully
  funded by the state as the originators of these
  regulatory requirements.

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Who Should Provide Support?

• CV and government
• Government
• DCRGA
• Companies Registration Office
• Charities Regulator
• Other Government Departments, the HSE, etc.
• CV side
• The Wheel
• National Federations and Umbrellas (DFI etc)
• Other specialized orgs (Carmichael Centre etc)

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The Wheels Paper

• Argues for all the above
• Argues that an outline of the additional
  resources that will be made available to the
  sector - and a clear strategy to provide same -
  should accompany enactment of the Bill
• Consultation should begin as soon as possible on
  the details of support

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The Wheels Paper

• The CV Sector should be provided with
• clear information (on enactment of the
  legislation) about what charities need to do
  during the period between enactment and
  commencement of the legislation
• This should be published on enactment to avoid a
  damaging information vacuum

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The Wheels Paper

• The CV Sector should be provided with
• a comprehensive transition-support strategy,
  with accompanying resources, to ensure that
  every charity in the country receives the
  supports required (identified above) through a
  mix of statutory and community and voluntary
  providers.
• a medium-run support-strategy to ensure that
  charities continue to receive the supports they
  require in the regulated environment

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The Wheels Paper

• Evidence from the Scottish experience suggests
  that a CV Sectorled programme of
  regulation-awareness-raising and
  governance-support will be necessary to prepare
  charities during the transition to regulation.

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The Wheels Paper

• a Regulator that adopts a culture, style and
  approach that is supportive of charities and in
  this regard we suggest that work commence to
  learn the lessons from the real-life experience
  of regulation in other, nearby, jurisdictions

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Regulation of Fundraising

• Feasibility Study on Regulation of Fundraising
  Published May 2008
• The study sets out a scheme to develop Codes of
  Good Practice on the operational and
  administrative aspects of fundraising by
  Charities and contains a Statement of Guiding
  Principles for Fundraising
• The primary objective for the scheme for
  drafting, publishing and actively monitoring
  codes of good practice will be to protect the
  public interest through information,
  accountability and a complaints system.

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Regulation of Fundraising

• An Implementation Group will be established to
  make arrangements to bring the scheme into
  operation and to promote (in partnership with the
  charities sector) the adoption of the Statement
  of Guiding Principles for Fundraising.
• The Implementation Group will identify areas of
  fundraising that are suitable for codes of good
  practice and then establish Working Groups
  (consisting of a majority of charity-representativ
  es) to develop them.
• Each Working Group will consult with relevant
  charities and donors when developing the codes.

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Regulation of Fundraising

• A Monitoring Group - consisting of a majority of
  independent (non-charity) representatives - will
  be established to actively monitor usage and
  operation of the Codes and to deal with
  complaints. The Monitoring Group would be
  funded by the Department of Community, Rural and
  Gaeltacht Affairs.

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Regulation of Fundraising

• The Implementation Group will also be charged
  with
• Identifying ways and means by which incentives
  might be provided for charities that adopt the
  codes.
• Discussing with the Department the funding of the
  scheme and the provision of resources for the
  charities sector to promote awareness and to
  source relevant education and training.
• Benchmarking and monitoring public confidence.

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Regulation of Fundraising

• The individual Codes of Practice themselves (to
  be developed by the Working Groups noted above)
  will recommend that all fundraising charities
  adopt the Statement of Guiding Principles for
  Fundraising noted above

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Regulation of Fundraising

• Additionally, the Codes of Practice will set out
  a graduated approach to rules and standards by
• re-stating the legal requirements on aspects of
  fundraising to be covered by the code and
• identifying standards recognised as good practice
  and recommended for all charities.
• identifying standards recognised as best practice
  to be encouraged for all charities

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Regulation of Fundraising

• There will be a close relationship between the
  Charity Regulator and the infrastructure that is
  proposed to regulate fundraising.
• Minister OCuiv has accepted the recommendations
  contained in the report on Regulation of
  Fundraising by charities through legislation and
  codes of practice.

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Regulation of Fundraising

• Implementation of these recommendations will be
  proceeding in parallel with the introduction of
  the Charity Regulator
• to ensure widespread support in the CV sector -
  representatives appointed to this group must be
  both unambiguously representative of, and
  appropriately drawn from, the CV sector

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Back to The Wheels Paper -Questions to Consider

• Is the service and support framework sketched
  above adequate?
• Are there other requirements
• How should the required funds be targeted?