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I’ll do it, but only if you’ll help

Pledge “CharityReform”

"I will protest for a day outside the offices of the Charity Commission and ICR but only if 30 other concerned citizens and people who donate to charities will support my call for the charities these bodies regulate to be made more accountable."

— des.curley, Concerned Citizen (contact)

Deadline to sign up by: 25^th December 2007
32 people signed up (2 over target)

Country: United Kingdom

More details
The Charity Commission , http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk, is established by law as the regulator and registrar for charities in England and Wales and the Commission claims to provide to provide " the best possible regulation of charities in England and Wales in order to increase charities' effectiveness and public confidence and trust".

That public trust is clearly misplaced as the Independent Complaints Reviewer ,http://www.icrev.demon.co.uk/icrbook.htm, who has responsibility for investigating complaints about the Charity Commission wrote in her 2006 Annual Report :

" the Commission can help people take their complaints about charities forward in the right way is by encouraging charities themselves to buy in to the concept and importance of well structured internal complaints processes. The
Commission’s recent report, ‘Cause for Complaint’,
demonstrates that commitment to this area of
good practice is far from universal.

In fact, this showed that 70% of charities have no
complaints procedure, 79% don’t think that they
need one and, of particular concern to the ICR, a
worrying 77% of small and medium sized charities
think that it is the Commission’s job to deal with
complaints for them."

So, almost 80% of the charities in England and Wales want your money or corporate sponsorship but shun the level of professional accountability one would expect anyone working with vunerable groups or individuals - which many of these charities do - to be subject to.

This appalling lack of accountability leads to horror stories like this http://whoaretheyreallyworkingfor.blogsp... and the intended beneficiaries of charities having no means to flag up serious problems .

This cannot be right.

Please support this pledge to flag up to the Charity Commission and the ICR and charities in England and Wales themselves that registered charity status should not be awarded to organisations that have no complaints processes and shun being professionally accountable for how they treat their service users.

These charities do not need to be 'encouraged to buy into professional accountability' by a useless bureaucracy we pay for , individuals and companies should stop donating to or sponsoring charities that do not have complaints procedures to protect those they claim to serve.

Thank you for your support.

Comments on this pledge

• Congratulations about time the Commission and the Charities have been told that they need to take responsiblity for the people they are there to serve
  I made a complaint to the Commission sometime ago about a Charity and backed it up with evidence only to be told by the Commission that it was basically small fry and that they would not be doing anything about my complaint
  Within a very short period of time many staff left and the things I had objected to were miraculously rectified I felt it was done in a tip off fashion and behind closed doors
  I should never have had to complain in the first place if these guy's had been delivering what they say they deliver on the label
  We must make these charities accountable for their actions as they are public servants
  I fully support this pledge
  miranda morland
  bruised uk
  http://www.freewebs.com/bruiseduk/
  miranda morland, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• The development of Mental Health Charities deserves far more public scrutiny. How they use money and ply large grants from the public purse or other sources which in turn influence Govt policy (creating the mis-shaped NIMHE) whilst they simultaneously sit as "advisors" on Govt (Dept of Health and DWP) "Advisory Boards" is a real cause for concern . As is the Mental Health Charities slick ability to create Top Down roll-outs of projects which end up having little longevity and dubious effectiveness, but maximum cash advantages for those administering them.
  
  The overfunded trend of "Top-Down" knows best creates lost opportunities for local groups and innovation and monopolises funding streams ....
  Paul B. Tovey, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• A 'universal complaints proceedure'
  seems to be a prerequisit for any organisation. I find it hard to understand why the charities do not have such proceedures. Charities are a business therefore are open to complaints a proceedure for dealing with complaints should be mandatory.
  
  With out such proceedures how are complaints dealt with ?
  
  Service users require and deserve professional accountable and verifiable proceedures in complaints.
  
  Just being labled 'charity' does not negate the need for protection
  from bad practice or service.
  S A Armstrong, 3 years ago. Abusive? Report it!