Scottish charities face fundraising scrutiny

Scottish charities’ fundraising tactics are to come under scrutiny, after recent high profile complaints sparked a review of English charities. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is to review current practice and report its findings to the Scottish Government by the end of August.

The move follows a pledge by David Cameron to crack down on high-pressure fundraising among some of the UK’s largest charities, incuding NSPCC, British Red Cross, Oxfam and Macmillan Cancer Support, all of which are currenty under investigation.

John Downie, director of public affairs at SCVO, commented: “Recent media stories about poor practise in some areas of fundraising impact on the public reputation of the whole sector. SCVO believes its vital that the industry can effectively tackle bad behaviour so the public can enjoy the experience of donating to charity safe in the knowledge their money is well spent.

"We therefore welcome the Scottish Government decision to launch a review into fundraising in Scotland to run alongside the review being carried out in England. SCVO will announce in due course more details of how this review will be carried out."