Fundraising Sounding Board Pilot

Fundraising Sounding Board Pilot

Volunteer with Age UK to be a

FundraisingReviewer

on our new

Fundraising Sounding Board Pilot

Information Pack and Expression of Interest Form

March 2017

Are you interested in helping Age UK lead the way in making charity fundraisingthe best experience it can be for its supporters and donors?

You could have this opportunity as a FundraisingReviewerVolunteerfor Age UK’s new Fundraising Sounding Board Pilot.

In this volunteer role you will have a voice in helping shape how Age UK continues to develop its fundraising practices and relationships with donors – informing our decision-making and policies. We fundraise in a way that has older people and our supporters in mind.We want to take particular care in the way that we make fundraising requests, as well as safeguarding and empowering people who are in vulnerable circumstances to exercise choice. What we learn may also be shared with the wider charitable sector and with new fundraising regulatory bodies.

The Sounding Board will give you the opportunity to engage with senior Age UK marketing, communications and fundraising staff. You will be in mid or later life and will share,using your life experience and knowledge, the impacts of fundraising and how we can fundraise supportively and thoughtfully. You will have some understanding of the need for charities, such as Age UK, to raise money through individualsgivingtheir support and some of the challenges this presents, especially when coming into contact with peoplein vulnerable circumstances.

The pilot will include an induction and taster session on 6th June 2017 and two full Sounding Boards meetings in 2017 on the 13th September and the 21stNovember. A final meeting and review of the pilot will take place on 14thFebruary 2018 to assess how it has worked for all involved.

At Age UK we recognise the importance of promoting equality, valuing diversity and creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We want to include people with a mixture of life experiences, different backgrounds, different communities and varied interests.

How to apply

To find out more, please read through the contents of this short pack. If you want to take the next step to apply, please complete and return the Expression of Interest form we have provided at the back of this pack (pages 10and 11).

Please email your completed form to Liz Stacey, Divisional Services Co-ordinator at or return a hard copy by freepost (no stamp required) to:

Liz Stacey, Freepost RTEH-ALYL-JJZU,

Age UK, Tavis House, 1-6 Tavistock Square,

London WC1H 9NA

Please return your completed Expression of Interest form by 10thMay 2017.

We will contact you with next steps by Thursday 25thMay 2017. If you have any queries please call Liz on 0203 033 1152 Thank you for your interest.

List of Contents

  • AboutAge UK and Fundraising
  • Fundraising Reviewer Volunteer Role Description
  • Terms of Reference
  • Expression of Interest form

About Age UK and Fundraising

Age UK is the country’s largest charity dedicated to helping everyone make the most of later life. As well as standing up with and speaking for those who have reached later life, Age UK provides services and support at a national and local level to inspire, enable and support older people.

Age UK’s Fundraising Team aims to create positive relationships between donors and the Charity to help ensure that the charity’s vital work can continue.

We fundraise in a way that has older people and our supporters in mind. We have established principles to ensure that we do not engage in practices that areinconsistent with Age UK’s values.For example, we don’t fundraise door-to-door, we don’t cold call for fundraising purposes and we don’t sell personal data.

We fundraise in a variety of different ways, including mailings, TV, radio, events and online and we are very grateful to our many generous supporters whose individual donations and legacies make much of our work possible.

What donations help us achieve

Last year, Age UK transformed the lives of 1.2m people over 60 years old in the UK. Some of the things that donations help us doare:

Answering over 250,000 calls every year, providing vital information and advice fromtrained experts

Calling for improvements to the law, campaigning for high quality care so people are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.

Last year we provided information and advice to over 5 million people.

More information about Age UK’s fundraising charter can be found at:

FundraisingReviewer - Volunteer Role Description

In this role you will volunteer with Age UK as a member of the Fundraising Sounding Board pilot tohelp inform itsdecision making on charity fundraising communications, policy and practice. Learnings may also be shared more widely across the charity sector. Volunteers will also contribute to the review of the pilot and share their views on being involved. The Fundraising Sounding Board will consider a range of topical areas such as:

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  • Images and language used in fundraising campaigns
  • Safeguarding donors in vulnerable circumstances
  • Impacts on donors of positive and negative experiences of fundraising
  • Reviewing best practice guidelines
  • What fundraising needs to do more of or less of
  • Enhancingtwo-wayrelationships between the Charity and its donors
  • Sharing good news stories
  • Responding to the current trends
  • Use of different methods

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What is involved?

  • Attend an introductory day (e.g. 10.15am – 3.15pm) on 6th June 2017which will inform your understanding of Age UK and your volunteer role
  • Attend twomeetings on 13thSeptember 2017 and 21stNovember 2017
  • Consider in advance of each meeting 3-4 discussion materials (hard copy and email)
  • Attend a Sounding Board Review meeting on 14thFebruary 2018
  • Travel to meetings which will all take place in London usually between 10.15am and 3.15pm

Qualities and skills required

  • A desire to improve fundraising practice, especially when charities come into contact with people in vulnerable circumstances
  • An awareness of the circumstances that can increase a person’s vulnerability
  • An interest in the work of Age UK, and an understanding of a charity’s need to raise money through individuals giving monetary support to its work
  • At ease in communicating and participating in a group setting
  • Comfortable contributing your personal views and experiences to develop diverse perspectives

Additional information

  • Please refer to the Fundraising Sounding Board Terms of Reference
  • All reasonable expenses and overnight accommodation incurred in attending meetings will be reimbursed in line with Age UK’s policy
  • Contribution to costs of an attendant or replacement carer will be provided
  • Membership of the pilot will be until March 2018 and members are able to opt out at any stage. Members of the pilot will also be able to opt in to share their voices via other Age UK Engagement opportunities

Terms of Reference

1.0Background

Age UK is the country’s largest charity dedicated to helping everyone make the most of later life. As well as standing up with and speaking for those who have reached later life, Age UK provides services and support at a national and local level to inspire, enable and support older people.

More information about Age UK’s fundraising can be found at:

2.0 Aim of the Fundraising Sounding Board Pilot

The Fundraising Sounding Board provides an opportunity to volunteer with Age UK, the national body and to provide insight on the issues and impacts of fundraising practice and policy.

Members of the Fundraising Sounding Board pilot are called Fundraising Reviewers and will fulfil their role by having opportunity to:

(i)Engage with senior Age UK staff and provide personal views and perspectives to review fundraising best practice

(ii)Provide insights on Age UK’s fundraising policy and procedures in instances when the Charity comes into contact withpeople in vulnerable circumstances

(iii) Provide informed voices on Age UK’s national fundraising at different stagesof their development

(iv)Participate in the review of the pilot and share your feedback on, for example what worked well and what could be improved.

The Sounding Board will report tosenior management and will complement other commissioned research. Key Age UK staff leads such as the Head of Individual Giving Legacies and Head of Safeguarding will provide meeting content for discussion. What we learn will be shared across Age UK and may be shared with the wider charitable sector and new fundraising regulatory bodies.

3.0Membership

The membership aims to achieve a wide geographical spread across England and to include people who live in different settings. The membership is to be made up of people in mid or later life from diverse backgrounds to help ensure a wide range of views and experience.

Members will share using their life experience and knowledge, the impacts of fundraising and how Age UK can make its fundraising the best experience it can be, whether members donate to Age UK or not.

Members will both recognise the need for charities to raise money from individuals and have an interest in overcoming the challenges this can present to the charity sector, especially in instances when charities come into contact with people in more vulnerable circumstances.

Members will be expected to have an awareness of circumstances that can increasevulnerabilityat different times such as loneliness, lack of income, health problems, and life changes such as new employment status or bereavement.

A knowledge of: some of the impacts on individuals of fundraising; some of the fundraising challenges for charities or an awareness of factors that can increase vulnerability could be demonstrated in a number of ways such as, having experience of and / or skills in one or more of the following:

a)As an individual who has received fundraising requests from charities, whether you are a donor or not e.g. through mailings, on the street, via telephone or TV advert

b)As a carer or intermediary of someone in vulnerable circumstances

c)Experience of standard setting, safeguarding, monitoring and regulation of a public campaign, event or services for older people

d)As an organiser of fundraising, producing materials or communications for a good cause

e)By having a professional or other informed interest

Members will be expected to be individual contributorsbringing their own knowledge and experience, rather than representing the views of a specific local or national organisation.

The membership will not exceed 20 and will include seldom heard or marginalised communities. Members will be expected to complete an Expression of Interest (initial or on-going) Form, an Equalities Monitoring Form, and provide a short personal informal biography.

4.0General principles for Operation

a)Overall ownership of the Fundraising Sounding Boardpilot work-plan rests with the Age UK Steering Group and the Director of Fundraising.

b)The Board is chaired and facilitated by Age UK’s Engagement and Involvement Team (E&I), with the agenda jointly agreed between the Steering Groupand E&I.

c)Age UKproject leads (e.g. for individual giving, brand & marketing and safeguarding policy) will participate in Board meetings and provide timely communications, including topic discussion papers/materials at least 14 days prior to the meeting e.g. fundraising materialsor review papers.

d)Members will be able to consider the papers/materials in advance of meetings and at meetings opportunity will be given to contribute personal views and perspectives in an environment of mutual respect and inclusivity.

e)There will be times when the Sounding Board will discuss confidential organisational information or fundraising campaigns. Where information is considered to be confidential, group members will be clearly advised of this at the time the information is given.

f)Members are individual contributors; however information provided (when not confidential) can be discussed with your wider networks to inform your perspectives.

g)Members will not disclose any confidential information that they become aware of through the group e.g. information that can be used to identify a person (examples are names, personal circumstances –for the purposes of the Sounding Board, this is most likely to be information revealed by another member about themselves) or Age UK information.

h)A record of meeting insights/discussions will be held by Age UK.

i)Information on outcomes/updates from previous Board discussions will be circulated at least 14 days in advance of the next meeting and provided by Age UK.

j)The Board will convene four times during the pilot between June 2017 to March 2018 - any member unable to attend will be provided with an opportunity to input views and comments before or after the meeting on papers/materials issued.

k)Meetings will usually be held between 10.15am and 3.15pm in London and volunteer and logistical services will be provided by E&I divisional support staff.

l)An Induction will be provided to pilot members on the 6th June2017 and will cover areas such as volunteering with Age UK, an overview of Age UK and current fundraising, the role of a Fundraising Reviewer.

m)Participation in the Sounding Board Pilot is voluntary and unpaid. All reasonable travel and subsistence expenses incurred in attending the Sounding Board will be reimbursed in line with Age UK’s policy. Age UK will cover a contribution to the cost of an attendant carer to enable a member to fully participate.

n)The Terms of Reference will be re-visited as part of the pilot review.

o)The Fundraising Sounding Board Pilot is to meet the requirements of Age UK’s engagement principles which state that engagement is to be:

  • Mutually beneficial (in this case for the individual participating and for Age UK)
  • Aligned to Age UK’s key priority to make the UK a great place in which to grow older
  • Cost effective and sustainable
  • Inclusive
  • Timely and frequent
  • Flexible and varied

p)Fundraising Sounding Board Pilot members will be invited to become members of the wider Age UK Engagement Consultative Network[1] and will benefit from receiving further central engagement opportunities, as and when available.

Expression of Interest to Volunteer

Section A: Your personal details

Section B: Your experience

Section B: Your experience (cont.)

Section C: Your involvement

Please tell us how you heard of this opportunity: ______

______

Age UK adheres to the Data Protection Act (1998) and any information provided will be treated with respect, stored securely and used for the purposes of processing this form and re-contacting you.

By signing this form, I confirm that as far as I am aware, I am available for the Induction date on 6th June2017and three subsequent meeting 2017/18 dates on: 13th September, 21stNovember 2017 and 14thFebruary 2018.

Signed:______

Print Name: ______

Date form completed: ______

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[1]The Age UK Engagement Consultative Network (ECN) is made up of people in or approaching retirement who live across England who have volunteered to share their views with Age UK on a range of different topics. The Age UK Engagement and Involvement team offers the ECN different opportunities to join in for example by; responding to surveys, taking part in focus groups or being part of a membership engagement group such as the Policy Sounding Board or Services Sounding Board. Individuals can opt in or out of the ECN at any time. Age UK will also share with the ECN other engagement opportunities that are also relevant to older people that are run by other organisations, such as NHS England.