According to research undertaken by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation charities are campaigning less than they used to since the Lobbying Act was introduced.
Almost half of charity communicators don’t understand the Lobbying Act rules.
The Lobbying Act has had ‘a chilling effect’ on charities ability to speak out.
The Charity Commission for England and Wales acknowledges that whilst charities must be independent from party politics they must still be able to use their voice effectively at election times.
Charities need to campaign. Our “Freedom To Campaign” guide will help you to do that – even during a regulated election period.
You can download the full Guide here. Or you can read all the content online starting with the Introduction or one of the other pages below.
If you’ve read the Guide, please tell us what you think by completing this short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FreedomToCampaign
Freedom To Campaign Guide Contents
- Introduction
- At A Glance
- Public Commentary and Party Policy
- Changing Legislation or Party Policy
- Media and Communications
- Events and Other Campaign Activities
- Next Steps
For more background read some of the articles on the launch of the Guide:
- PR Week setting out how we got to this point
- PRCA news article and blog post on their role in the Guide
- A summary of the main issues and advice in The Guardian
- The wider context of the latest Sheila McKechnie Foundation findings in in Civil Society and Third Sector.