A church charity has been found in breach of the Fundraising Regulator’s code over its soliciting of a large donation from one of its volunteers and churchgoers who was vulnerable and had a history of mental health problems.

The complaint about the conduct of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) was made by the volunteer’s sister, who told the regulator she is “vulnerable, having experienced problems with her mental health previously”.

Her sister had also said that her mental health challenges were known to the charity at the time of the donation.

Also, she had been “frequently asked for donations towards charity activities while acting as a volunteer”, said the sister, who added that the charity had asked her to provide a tithe for membership of the church, which is a tenth of someone’s income.

During its investigation the church charity told the regulator that the donation made by the vulnerable volunteer was an “offering” and that it did not consider it to be a charitable donation.

But the regulator determined it was a donation and noted that the charity had claimed Gift Aid on this form of gift.

The regulator also agreed that the charity was aware of the volunteer’s mental health problems, despite its claims that it had assumed she had “moved past these difficulties and could therefore consent to the donation”.

Lack of training

It also found that the charity did not have any training, procedures or policies in place regarding donors in vulnerable circumstances.

“These could have helped it objectively consider the donor’s needs and if they needed support when donating,” said the Fundraising Regulator.

It added: “We concluded that it was more likely than not that UCKG was aware of the donor’s previous mental health issues.

“The size of the donation was much greater than the donor’s usual giving. Despite this knowledge the charity failed to take appropriate steps to consider her capacity to donate or risk of vulnerability before accepting her donation.”

However, the regulator found there was no breach regarding the sister’s claim that the charity had placed undue pressure on the volunteer to donate or to contribute financially to the running of youth group activities.

It did however recommend that the charity recognise that asking a volunteer to fund activities needs to be recognised as a fundraising method.

It also recommends that the charity “urgently takes steps to compile and implement a comprehensive fundraising policy for donors who may be in vulnerable circumstances and implement training for its fundraisers in this area”,

Trustees asked to consider a refund

The charity’s trustees are also asked to consider whether it should refund the donations made by the donor.

The regulator also notes that “the charity accepts that it must make changes to their fundraising work and implement policies and procedures” to ensure it complies with its code.

UCKG said in a statement that “while we do not agree with all aspects of the findings, we respect the Regulator’s role and have engaged constructively throughout.”

It added: “As a UK-registered charity, UCKG accepts it is bound by the Code of Fundraising Practice and will implement the Regulator’s recommendations in full.

“Our focus remains on maintaining high standards of care and transparency, while continuing our community and faith-based work across the UK.

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