The general public need have confidence and trust in Childlife to know that their donations are being managed and spent wisely, they want to see honest and ethical fundraising, and they want to know that Childlife is making a positive difference to their member charities. We want to meet high standards for raising and managing money and explain all this clearly to our donors, and to show how we are making a difference to the members. This document sets out the policy and procedures for the trustees and employees of Childlife to protect the public trust in us as an organisation.
We have a clear Trustee Induction Process, and comply with the Charity Commission guidance on who can be a trustee and senior manager of a charity. Trustees are responsible for the good governance of Childlife and regular board meetings are attended where Childlife’s fundraising strategy is discussed and agreed. Conflict of interest need to be declared at the start of each meeting.
An annual audit or an independent examination will take place by an external auditor or an independent examiner to ensure that Childlife is being run in efficient way, that the information given in the Trustees’ Report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements and that the Trustees’ Report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
The annual accounts and report will be filed with the Charity Commission on time every year with input from all the member charities on how donations are helping their cause. These are also then made available to the general public on our website.
Childlife holds policies on Anti- fraud and Whistleblowing so that any fraud, misconduct or wrongdoing by workers or officers of the Charity is reported and properly dealt with. The Charity therefore encourages all individuals to raise any concerns that they may have about the conduct of others in the charity or the way in which the charity is run and details the steps that must be taken where any of these practices is suspected or discovered.
Childlife holds policies on Ethically Fundraising, Dealing with Vulnerable Donors and a Responsible Gambling Policy to cover the ethical issues and social responsibility within fundraising. All Childlife staff involved in fundraising have a responsibility to be aware and have a thorough understanding of the ethical issues referred to in these policies.
Childlife has a clear data Protection Policy in which staff are given training so that donors can be confident that their personal data is handled and stored to meet the company’s data protection standards and to comply with the law.
Childlife is a member of the Institute of fundraising and the Fundraiser Regulator to ensure that we stay up to date with guidance and regulation. Childlife holds a complaints policy and all complaints are investigates and reported back to the trustees. We vet all partner agencies that we work with to ensure they meet our standards.
If an incident occurs this will be reported to the trustees who will review and if it is appropriate it will be reported to the Charity Commission. Also if an incident cannot be resolved this will be reported to the Charity Commission. The Chair of trustees holds the responsibility for reporting to any outside bodies.
Last update – August 2018