The fallout from the Olive Cooke case is a crisis testing the strength and capacity of the self-regulation of fundraising, Charity Commission chair William Shawcross has said.

In speech notes for an address to the Rathbones Charity Conversations event in London, Shawcross said the commission’s research suggests around two thirds of people feel uncomfortable about some methods of fundraising. The regulator considers how charities fundraise has a significant bearing on public trust and confidence.

The Fundraising Standards Board is investigating fundraising practices following media allegations that 92 year old Bristol woman Olive Cooke, a committed volunteer fundraiser and regular charity donor, was overwhelmed by fundraising requests.

Mrs Cooke was found dead in the Avon Gorge in early May. Subsequent media reports quoted her family as saying charities were not responsible for her death, but the FRSB has said the situation prompted a surge in public complaints about fundraising practices.

“Regardless the specifics of the Olive Cooke case, the issues it highlighted have clearly caused great anxiety among the public,” Shawcross said. “We recognise that many charities rely on raising money from the public to carry out their important work.”

Shawcross said he supports the suggestion of a wholesale review of the Code of Fundraising Practice, and hopes the self-regulatory trio of the FRSB, the Institute of Fundraising, and the Public Fundraising Regulatory Authority work closely on the review and all commit to act on its recommendations.

The FRSB earlier this week published an interim report on its investigation, making a series of recommendations to improve practices.

FRSB chief executive Alistair McLean agreed with Shawcross that the level of public concern has been “deeply worrying” for all in the sector, and said it is the biggest challenge the self-regulatory system has ever had to face.

“The new measures announced by the IoF’s Standards Committee today and our ongoing investigation demonstrate how committed we all are to addressing these concerns and restoring public trust. A key advantage of the self-regulatory system is the ability to move quickly and we are working closely with the IoF and PFRA to ensure that we can deal with the ongoing challenges promptly and thoroughly.”

The Charity Commission does not directly regulate fundraising. However, Shawcross said if the FRSB’s investigation reveals any breaches of the fundraising Code of Practice, breaches of data protection law, or impropriety on the part of fundraisers the commission will look at whether such conduct amounts to a breach of duty under charity law.

Charity Commission guidance on fundraising and trustees’ duties is currently being revised and strengthened, with a draft of the revised guidance to be published later in the year.

“Trustees must do everything they can to prevent fundraising becoming a problem in the first place,” Shawcross said. “I believe our guidance must therefore reflect on trustees’ responsibility to the protection of donors. We hope charities and the public take part in the consultation on this important piece of guidance.”

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