EFA-logoEFA-logoEFA-logoEFA-logo
  • About us
    • Our board
    • What we do
    • How we work
    • Ethics
    • Our history
    • Privacy Policy
  • Membership
    • Member benefits
    • EFA members
    • EFA associates
    • Join EFA
  • EFA Certification
    • Certification news
    • Why EFA Certification?
    • Standard Competence Framework handbook
    • Advanced Competence Framework handbook
    • EFA qualifications
    • Applying for EFA Certification
    • Certification committee
  • Public Affairs
    • Public Affairs news
  • News
    • Fundraising Europe
    • Latest news
    • Latest features
    • EFA news
    • European Fundraising Podcast
    • Contributor guidelines
    • Advertise with EFA
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • 2022 Nonprofit Pulse survey webinar
    • EFA Skillshare and AGA, Prague, 21-22 September 2023
  • Resources
  • About us
    • Our board
    • What we do
    • How we work
    • Ethics
    • Our history
    • Privacy Policy
  • Membership
    • Member benefits
    • EFA members
    • EFA associates
    • Join EFA
  • EFA Certification
    • Certification news
    • Why EFA Certification?
    • Standard Competence Framework handbook
    • Advanced Competence Framework handbook
    • EFA qualifications
    • Applying for EFA Certification
    • Certification committee
  • Public Affairs
    • Public Affairs news
  • News
    • Fundraising Europe
    • Latest news
    • Latest features
    • EFA news
    • European Fundraising Podcast
    • Contributor guidelines
    • Advertise with EFA
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • 2022 Nonprofit Pulse survey webinar
    • EFA Skillshare and AGA, Prague, 21-22 September 2023
  • Resources
✕
CAF World Giving 2019
Ireland, UK & Netherlands among most generous countries globally
December 4, 2019
Gosse Bosma
Gosse Bosma steps down from EFA presidency
December 4, 2019

ECNL publishes review of global fundraising self-regulation

December 4, 2019
Categories
  • Europe
  • News
Tags
  • Regulation
magnifying glass

Organisations involved in the self-regulation of fundraising should rethink what kinds of accountability they owe their stakeholders in order to become more accountable to charity beneficiaries, a new report from the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law has recommended.

The ECNL report on global self-regulation of fundraising is co-authored by Ian MacQuillin, director of fundraising think tank Rogare, Professor Adrian Sargeant and Harriet Day from the Philanthropy Centre. It considers academic models of accountability in non-profit self-regulation.

It finds many are based on the ‘Principal-Agent’ theory, which sees the regulator body act as the agent of the principal to ensure the intentions are adhered to. In the case of fundraising self-regulation, the principal is the donor.

However, while this means self-regulation is often good at accountability to donors and governments: the stakeholders with the most power to affect the self-regulatory regime, it means that because beneficiaries lack similar power to make demands of NGOs, there is often a poor level of accountability to them.

The report concludes that beneficiaries are owed a high degree of moral accountability, and that it is their interests that should take precedence.

It states:

“We recommend that all involved in fundraising regulation should review their accountability processes, but more than this, rethink what kinds of accountability they owe their various stakeholders, based on the theory and scholarship we have described in this report. We particularly recommend devising a model for beneficiary accountability in fundraising self-regulation.”

Among its other recommendations, the report also suggests considering how the PFRA-model of self-regulating – a so-called ‘common pool resource’ in the context of face-to-face fundraising – could be adapted and applied to other methods of fundraising, and that all self-regulation of fundraising should comply with the five principles of good regulation as set out by the UK Government’s Better Regulation Task Force.

These are:

Proportionality – regulators should intervene only when necessary. Remedies should be appropriate to the risk posed, and costs identified and minimised

Accountability – regulators should be able to justify decisions and be subject to public scrutiny

Consistency – government rules and standards must be joined up and implemented fairly

Transparency – regulators should be open, and keep regulations simple and user-friendly

Targeted – regulation should be focused on type problem and minimise side effects

Lead author on the report, Rogare director Ian MacQuillin said:

“Self-regulation is not just a matter of a professional body writing a code of practice. These days, the government is never far from the mix and is often a driving force in the background. We now have systems of co-regulation where all sorts of actors – such as ratings agencies and information services – are part of the regulatory mix.

“But those actors are often most focused on protecting donors’ interest. We see this so often with the arbitrary upper limit on admin costs that are – or have been – part of many countries’ standards.

“And while there may be many ‘prudential’ reasons why self-regulatory bodies think their primary accountability is upwards to donors and the public, there is plenty of scholarship that argues for a downward moral accountability to beneficiaries, to ensure they are not harmed by unnecessarily restrictive regulation.”

The ECNL report – Fundraising Self-Regulation: An Analysis and Review – can be downloaded from: http://ecnl.org/mapping-trends-and-principles-of-self-regulation-regimes-on-fundraising/

Share

Related posts

An EU flag flies against a blue sky. By Pixels2013 on Pixabay
September 8, 2023

EU Commission adopts proposal on nonprofit cross-border activities


Read more
Swedish krona notes. By ChristophMeinersmann on Pixabay
September 6, 2023

Giving remains stable in Sweden for now despite signs of decline


Read more
Part of Europe on a globe. By Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels
August 24, 2023

$70bn in cross-border philanthropic giving took place in 2020, global tracker shows


Read more

Most popular posts

Search news by country or category

Search news by date

Popular topics

  • Research
  • Individual giving
  • Legacies
  • Coronavirus
  • Digital
  • Professional development
  • Events
  • Philanthropic trends
  • Collaboration
  • Tax incentives

Registered Office

James Wattstraat 100
NL-1097 DM Amsterdam
Netherlands

EFA is registered at the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce
Reg. No. 34212817

Contact

Executive Officer, Denise Dawes
denise.dawes@efa-net.eu

Media enquiries:
news@efa-net.eu

Follow us

Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn

Search

✕
© 2021 EFA | European Fundraising Association. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Read More
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT