Charities Regulator Issues New Guidance on Clothing Collections

The Charities Regulator has issued new guidance to both charities and the public on the issue of clothing collections. Most concerns raised by members of the public with the Charities Regulator continue to be in relation to stickers and bags coming in the front door seeking donations of clothing and other unwanted items.

Many of these collectors are not registered charities so it is important that both charities and the public stay informed so that registered charities get the benefit from all donations that are intended to go to a charitable cause.

The two new guidance documents are available at the following links:

1.      Guidance Note for Registered Charities on Fundraising through Clothing Label Collections and Clothing Bank Collections 

This guidance note is aimed at assisting charity trustees whose charities use clothing collections as a method of fundraising.

2.      Clothing Collections Public Notice

This guidance note is aimed at assisting members of the public to make an informed decision when donating.

“While we recognise that some registered charities benefit from fundraising through door-to-door collections, the majority of concerns received by the Charities Regulator from members of the public regarding such collections relate to individuals and organisations that are not registered charities,” Charities Regulator Chief Executive Helen Martin said. “It is unlawful for anyone to claim to be a charity when they are not and so members of the public who contact the Charities Regulator are right to be concerned. We hope this new guidance for charities and the public will assist in ensuring that any donations destined for charitable causes end up with registered charities.”

Leaflets and bags received for clothing collections from registered charities should clearly display the charity’s name, logo, Registered Charity Number (also referred to as an ‘RCN’) and contact details.  If in doubt, members of the public are encouraged to check the Register of Charities which is available on www.charitiesregulator.ie.