As part of amendments to its Code of Fundraising Practice: Face-to-Face Fundraising, the Institute of Fundraising plans to ensure that its face-to-face fundraising guidance incorporates ‘prospecting’.

Prospecting is a two-step practice where charities fundraisers’ initial contact with a prospective donor is not in the form of a ‘direct ask’, with a donation made by email or telephone at a later stage.

The Institute of Fundraising is looking for individuals to join a new working party on a voluntary basis to amend and expand the code of practice to cover prospecting and improve accountability and transparency in the voluntary sector and among its network partners.

Prospecting is not currently covered in the Code of Fundraising Practice, which outlines the legal requirements, obligations for members of the institute and issues of best practice in both on-the-street and house-to-house fundraising.

Megan Pacey, Institute of Fundraising director of policy and campaigns, said: "It is vital that the Codes of Fundraising Practice are flexible enough to take on board evolving practice. To the general public on the street, ‘prospecting’ looks very much like face-to-face fundraising, but at present it is not covered within the scope of the Face-to-Face Code of Fundraising Practice."

The UK Workforce Hub and Institute of Fundraising are calling for responses from voluntary and not-for-profit sector community organisations to the newly drafted National Occupational Standards, which outlines the "skills and understanding needed to undertake particular tasks to a nationally recognised level of competence".

More about network partners.