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The scope of the Standards

The National Occupational Standards for Fundraising are one of a series of different sets of occupational standards.

Most UK professions have now developed their own suite and you can view a database of these at www.ukstandards.org.

This database is a highly significant resource because a number of the standards relevant to a role may be found in the suites offered by other professions.

In the fundraising standards we have very deliberately focused on the solicitation of voluntary donations, whether these gifts come from individuals, businesses or grant making organisations. We have chosen not to develop standards for retail trading, contracting, catalogue marketing and other forms of commercial fundraising activity.

If you are looking for guidance on best practice in these areas, the marketing and sales and/or retailing suites will offer the guidance that you need. You can conduct a keyword search for relevant units at the UK Standards website: www.ukstandards.org.

We have also chosen not to focus on the recruitment, retention and management of volunteers. There is a separate set of occupational standards that cover the issue of volunteer management and specifically the knowledge and skills necessary to:

  1. Develop and evaluate strategies and policies that support volunteering
  2. Promote volunteering
  3. Recruit, place and induct volunteers
  4. Manage and develop volunteers
  5. Manage yourself, your relationships and your responsibilities
  6. Provide management support for volunteering programmes

To avoid unnecessary overlap we focus here solely on the knowledge and skills that volunteers will need to perform specific fundraising tasks, or to manage the fundraising function themselves. There are also a Standards for Trustees and Management Committee Members.

These standards do not address fundraising per se, but they are of relevance to fundraisers because they specify board member responsibilities in overseeing the function and assisting fundraisers in the overall task of raising funds and other resources.

Some users may find it valuable to share these standards within their organisation.

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