Renfrewshire North and West MSP Derek Mackay has welcomed new rules that have been introduced for fundraisers.  Under these new rules doorstep fundraisers should not call at people’s home after 9pm at night and should always use the main entrance.

The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) [1] published new guidelines for people who visit homes to raise money for charities.  Breaking the rules could lead to fines of over £1000, similar to the penalty recently created for street fundraisers.

The rules also state that fundraisers should not to visit homes before 9am in the morning, or 10am on Sundays, and urges fundraisers not to alarm householders after dark.

Derek Mackay MSP said:

“I welcome these new rules, as they will provide greater confidence on who is going round doors collecting for various good causes.

“However, I would remind all residents that they should be aware of bogus callers and should always check the identity of anyone collecting money.  All reputable fundraisers will have proper identification, if you are unsure of anyone then do not give them any money and contact the police straight away”.

NOTES

The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association is the charity-led self-regulatory membership body for all types of face-to-face fundraising (F2F), with both charity and fundraising agency members, comprising about 95% of the organisations currently involved in all types of F2F activity.