​New panel draws on a range of expertise across Scotland's third sector

A panel of experts has been assembled and entrusted with ensuring the future and the health of charity fundraising in Scotland.

The Scottish Fundraising Implementation Group has announced the members of the Independent Fundraising Standards & Adjudication Panel for Scotland, which will oversee standards and complaints about charities registered north of border.

The panel will be chaired by Alison Elliot, associate director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues, University of Edinburgh, a former moderator of the Church of Scotland and convener of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) from 2007 to 2013.

Members include: Jay Butler, an SCVO trustee, non-executive director of NHS 24 and Apex Scotland, Sheila Logan, a data protection adviser and Trainer and Cathy Bell of Glasgow University,

This signals how strongly charities value the support of their donors

Joining them will be Val Surgenor, partner MacRoberts law firm and chair of Aberlour Child Care Trust, Paul Drury of Bethany Christian Trust, Ann-Marie Devlin, head of fundraising at Sense Scotland and chair of the Institute of Fundraising’s standards committee, and Michelle Armstrong, corporate and community fundraising manager at Cancer Research UK.

Collectively they will oversee a system of enhanced self-regulation for fundraising in Scotland.

Surgenor, chair of the implementation group, said: “The creation of an independent panel to oversee and promote better fundraising practice, and to adjudicate on matters where such practice isn’t implemented, is an exciting new development for charities and donors in Scotland.

“It provides a system of enhanced self-regulation. Developed within the context of what works already in Scotland, it presents an opportunity for charities in Scotland to enhance their already strong relationship and trust with their donors and supporters.

“Alongside the independent panel, a fundraising guarantee will specify how the public can expect to be treated by fundraisers. This is another commitment that signals how strongly charities value the support of their donors.”

John Downie, director of public affairs at SCVO, said: “Our research earlier this year demonstrated that people in Scotland trust charities and right across the board, we’re seeing that people in Scotland are more closely connected to charities and are more likely to give their time and money to them than people in other parts of the UK.

“We need to do everything in our power to maintain and strengthen this trust, and the new fundraising independent panel will play an important role in this by overseeing fundraising standards and fundraising complaints about charities registered in Scotland.”