Code of Fundraising Practice

If your charity asks the public for money, the Code of Fundraising Practice is the rulebook for how to do it properly. It is about trust: donors need to know that fundraising is honest, that their wishes are respected, and that people in vulnerable circumstances are protected.

The Code of Fundraising Practice is maintained by the Fundraising Regulator and sets the standards for all charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. (Source: Fundraising Regulator, Code of Fundraising Practice, accessed 9 July 2026.) It covers behaviour across every method — collections, events, direct mail, telephone, digital and social media — and the regulator investigates complaints where the Code is breached. A serious fundraising failure may also need to be reported to the Charity Commission as a serious incident, separately from any Fundraising Regulator complaint.

Larger fundraisers pay the Fundraising Levy and can display the regulator’s badge. Build the Code into your fundraising and complaints handling — see the fundraising-regulation chapter of the UK Charity Compliance Handbook.