Articles

The Fundraising Regulator (FR) has published new guidance on child sponsorship following complaints about the fundraising model.

The guidance is relevant to charities that ask donors to sponsor a child by making a regular donation to the charity, but also helps to inform potential donors. The FR’s regulation team launched a project to better understand how child sponsorship programmes are marketed and the level of code compliance in the sector. It found that donors are often led to believe that their donations will benefit specific children, and it was not always clear that funds might actually be pooled and used more broadly.

The updated guidance requires charities inviting donor support for individual children to explicitly disclose if contributions will not go directly to that child but will form part of a pooled fund or shared programme. The aim is to enhance ethical standards and transparency, maintaining donor trust and ensuring fair communication with donors.

Charities who operate a sponsorship model should review their fundraising materials to ensure they reflect how any donations will be allocated in accordance with the FR’s guidance.