Frequently Asked Questions

 

 

FIA offers members general guidance on fundraising issues but cannot give specific financial or legal advice. FIA recommends that members obtain independent financial or legal advice as required.

 

 

Do I need a licence to fundraise?

 

Yes. Fundraising licences are administrated by the State and Territory government where you are planning to run your campaign. For example, if you are based in Victoria but plan to run a telemarketing campaign that will reach donors in New South Wales, you will need to apply for the relevant licences and permits in Victoria and New South Wales.

 

The only exception is the Northern Territory which does not have fundraising legislation. Please keep in mind you will still require a gaming licence if you would like to run a charitable gaming fundraising activity.

 

Charitable gaming activities such as raffles, bingo, Calcuttas and lotteries fall under state gaming legislation. In addition to holding a fundraising licence, you will have to apply for a gaming licence in the state you are operating in.

 

To find more information or to apply for a fundraising licence, you will need to contact the relevant State or Territory office. See the contact list for government bodies under the Resources section of the FIA website.

 

 

My charity has been approached by some of our supporters who would like to run some fundraising events for us. Do they need to apply for a licence to fundraise?

 

In all states except Victoria, Queensland and Northern Territory, your charity is required to supply a letter of authority stating the start and end dates of the fundraising activity, your fundraising licence number for that State and other information as required by your State fundraising legislation.

 

If you are in Victoria, the supporters will have to apply for an additional licence to fundraise on your behalf. This includes commercial traders you engage to fundraise on your behalf such as a call centre, face to face fundraising supplier or an online fundraising company.

 

If the appeal is being run in Queensland you may need to apply for a licence. Please contact the Queensland Office of Fair Trading for more information.

 

 

What are FIA’s Principles and Standards of Fundraising Practice?

 

FIA’s Principles & Standards of Fundraising Practice are the professional fundraiser’s guide to ethical, accountable and transparent fundraising. The Principles and Standards have been developed with the help of industry experts and are a valuable and practical tool for both experienced fundraisers and those new to the profession.

 

The Principles are the overarching ethical codes. Click here to learn more.

 

Principles of Fundraising Practice

• The International Statement of Ethical Principles
• The Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
• Acceptance and Refusal of Donations
• Fundraisers Promise to Donors
• FIA Complaints Process

 

The Standards are best practice guidelines for specific disciplines of fundraising practice. The Standards offer guidance on how to set up a fundraising activity, manage donations and donor relationships, create promotional material, and comply with legislation. Click here to learn more.

 

Standards of Fundraising Practice

• Standard of Face to Face Fundraising
• Standard of Events Fundraising
• Standard of Bequest Fundraising
• Standard of Workplace Giving Fundraising
• Standard of Charitable Telemarketing
• Standard of Electronic Fundraising
• Standard of Charitable Gaming Fundraising
• Standard of Grants Fundraising
• Standard of Schools Fundraising
• Standard of Direct Mail Fundraising
• Standard of Overseas Aid Fundraising

 

 

I have a complaint about a charity or fundraiser who is a member of FIA. What can I do?

 

All FIA members are signatories to and are bound by FIA’s code of ethics, the Principles and Standards of Fundraising Practice. If you have a complaint about professional misconduct, please contact the CEO of Fundraising Institute Australia and submit your complaint in writing. The complaints form is available upon request. FIA’s Complaints Process is available here.

 

 

 

What authority is required to raise money for a cause that is based outside of Australia?

 

The Standard of Overseas Aid Fundraising Practice is designed as a guide to assist fundraisers and organisations who are seeking to raise and disperse funds for causes outside of Australia. The Standard provides ethical and operational guidance on setting up an overseas aid fundraising activity, working with an overseas aid agency, and management and transfer of donations, to assist fundraisers in achieving best practice. Please refer to FIA’s Standard of Overseas Aid Fundraising Practice for more information.

 

To conduct an Overseas Aid Fundraising Activity, you will need to ensure you comply with requirements set out by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and AusAID. Please refer to their websites for more information:

http://www.dfat.gov.au/

http://www.ausaid.gov.au/

 

 

I would like to run a fundraising event but I don’t know where to start.

 

FIA’s Standard of Events Fundraising Practice is a useful guide for fundraisers running events and was developed in close consultation with experts in event fundraising and relevant stakeholders. This can be downloaded free here.

 

FIA has some excellent resources available on our website under ‘Resources’ and in our library. The Library catalogue can be searched here.

 

The NSW government also has some great resources available on their events website http://www.events.nsw.gov.au/

 

 

Does my charity have DGR status?

 

A simple way to check whether your charity has DGR status is to search on ABN Lookup www.abr.business.gov.au/

 

 

Where can I find information about the cost of fundraising?

 

In 2004, FIA undertook research on key issues impacting on the legislation and regulation of fundraising. The report Key Issues in Fundraising found there were many variables in determining the cost of fundraising such as the size of the organisation, fundraising method, popularity of the cause, brand recognition and other factors. In addition to these variables, the study found there was no standardised definition of what was included in the cost of fundraising and due to the lack of a standardized national accounting system, this was impossible to determine. These variables and lack of a national accounting system mean the cost of fundraising is a flawed measure and a meaningless benchmark. Click here to access the report.

 

Other useful resources on the cost of fundraising:

 

1. Bridgespan’s research on Nonprofit Overhead Costs http://www.bridgespan.org
2. Benchmarking in the public and nonprofit sectors by Patricia Keehley and Neil Abercrombie (ISBN 9780787998318) (FIA has copies in the library and bookshop or you can order it from any good bookshop).
3. Accountability and Learning: Developing, monitoring and evaluation in the third sector by Charities Evaluation Services http://www.ces-vol.org.uk
4. Mandatory disclosure of costs of fundraising ratios: Does it achieve the regulators’ purposes by Dr Ted Flack http://eprints.qut.edu.au/4555/1/4555.pdf 

 

 

Does FIA have a list of grantmaking bodies in Australia?

 

FIA does not maintain a list of grantmaking bodies in Australia.

 

Philanthropy Australia produces an annual directory of grantmaking bodies, the Australian Directory of Philanthropy, which can be purchased from their website, http://www.philanthropy.org.au/.

 

Pathways Australia also maintains a list of charitable trusts and foundations. This can be purchased at http://www.pathwaysaustralia.com.au/

 

 

Where can I find information about giving and nonprofit sector in Australia?

 

The Queensland University Technology’s Australian Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies has a wide range of research available online at

http://www.bus.qut.edu.au/research/cpns/publications/

 

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 8106.0 - Not-for-profit Organisations, Australia, 2006-07

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8106.0Main+Features32006-07

 

 

Giving Australia report (2005)

http://www.fia.org.au/Content/NavigationMenu/EventFlyers/GIVING_AUSTRALIA_SUMMARY-2005.pdf

 

 

The ‘Giving Australia’ project is an initiative of the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership, coordinated by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) in collaboration with the Centre for Australian Community Organisations and Management (CACOM) at the University of Technology, Sydney, the Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (CPNS) at the Queensland University of Technology, Roy Morgan Research (RMR), McNair Ingenuity Research and the Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA).

 

 

Global Civil Society: Dimensions of the Nonprofit Sector by Lester M. Salamon, Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, S. Wojciech Sokolowski

Published by Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, 1999 (ISBN 9781886333420)

 

 

Third Sector: The Contribution of Nonprofit and Cooperative Enterprise in Australia by Mark Lyons. Published by Allen & Unwin, 2001 (ISBN 9781864487428)

 

 

Privacy and Information Disclosure

 

What are a charity’s obligations in handling and protecting personal information?

 

All charities must comply with the National Privacy Principles and Information Privacy Principles which can be found on the Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s website at www.privacy.gov.au. 

 

 

What information does a charity have to disclose to donors or potential donors?

 

Under FIA’s Principles and Standards of Fundraising Practice, when soliciting donations, the charity must provide contact details such as the name of the charity, street address, website and telephone number. Donors should be informed of what the intended use of the donation is, the charity’s mission and an accurate description of the charity’s activities.

 

Upon request, a charity must supply the most recent annual report, constitution, and if relevant, details of the source from which the charity obtained the donor’s contact information, the person in the charity handling donor complaints and if the fundraiser soliciting the donation is an employee of the charity, an employee of a supplier of fundraising services or a volunteer. 

 

 

Remuneration of Fundraisers

 

 

Where can I find information about remuneration in the nonprofit sector?

You may also find the employment section of our website useful as to what rates are offered by other charities for similar roles.

 

Each year, Enterprise Care release a remuneration report for the nonprofit sector. For more information, visit the website at www.enterprisecare.com.au.

 

 

FIA Principles and Standards of Fundraising Practice prohibit the use of percentage based remuneration.

 

Other Questions

 

 

Where can I find information about how to set up a charity or fund, including how to apply for DGR status?

 

Charitable status and deductible gift recipient (DGR) status is determined by the Australian Taxation office. The Australian Taxation Office’s nonprofit section has useful guides that can be downloaded free at www.ato.gov.au/nonprofit or call 1300 130 248

 

There are over 700,000 nonprofit organisations in Australia. You may consider researching existing charities with similar objectives before starting your own charity. Starting a charity is costly and time consuming and your skills and expertise may be better used working closely with a charity of your choice.

 

 

I have started a fundraising business. Do I need a fundraising licence?

 

Yes. You are required to register as a trader in Queensland and Victoria.  In other states, you will require a letter of authority from each of your clients to fundraise of their behalf. Please refer to the government contact list under ‘Resources’ on the FIA website to apply for a licence.

 

 

I am member of the public and would like to raise money for my charity. Do I need permission from a charity to fundraise on their behalf?

 

Yes. In all states of Australia, except Victoria, you will require a letter of authority from your charity to fundraise on their behalf. In Victoria you will have to apply for a fundraising licence, whether you are an individual or a business.

 

Your chosen charity will be able to support you in your fundraising efforts and assist you in complying with fundraising legislation, in particular the banking and reporting requirements, which can be quite complex. 

 

A simpler and more cost effective option is to volunteer your time and participate in your charity’s existing fundraising programs. Contact your charity and see how you can help.

 

 

What can I do if I wish to stop receiving mail, email or phone calls from a charity?

 

Contact the charity involved and request you are removed from their database. Charities maintain internal do not contact lists and are more than happy to assist in tailoring their communications to their donors’ requirements.

 

 

My charity would like to engage to services of a supplier to supply fundraising products/services/expertise. Is there a list of suppliers for the nonprofit sector?

 

FIA maintains a list of suppliers and consultants under the industry links section of the FIA website.

 

Please note that the listings are a paid service, and inclusion on the list does not amount to endorsement by FIA.

 

If you are interested in being listed on our suppliers and consultants register, please contact FIA Member Services on 1300 889 670 or email memberservices@fia.org.au.