When Compliance Feels Like Good Fundraising

Recently, I had the pleasure of delivering an in-person training session on the new Code of Fundraising Practice. 
 
It was one of those sessions that stays with you — not because everything was perfect or easy, but because of the way the conversation unfolded. 
 
There was a real openness in the room. 
 
We talked honestly about the changes organisations need to make. These aren’t always comfortable discussions. They can challenge long-held ways of working, raise difficult questions, and sometimes feel a little overwhelming. But what stood out was how those conversations were approached — with curiosity, professionalism, and a genuine desire to get it right for supporters. 
 
And that feels important. 
 
Because compliance, at its best, isn’t about rules. It’s about people. 
 
And as trust fundraisers, it can be easy to lose sight of that when we’re focused on deadlines, pipelines and targets. 
 
One of the most powerful parts of the session wasn’t identifying what needed to change — it was recognising what was already working well. There was a clear culture of care, respect, and supporter-first thinking running through the team. And when that foundation is already there, adapting to new guidance doesn’t feel like an overhaul. 
 
It feels like evolution. 
 
That’s something I see time and time again in fundraising. The organisations who navigate change most confidently aren’t necessarily the ones with the most resource or the most sophisticated systems. They’re the ones who are willing to reflect, to ask questions, and to keep their supporters at the centre of their decisions. 
 
Compliance then becomes less of a tick-box exercise and more of a natural extension of good fundraising practice. 
 
It becomes part of how you build trust. 
 
And trust is what underpins everything we do. 
 
So if you’re looking at the new Code and feeling unsure where to start, it might help to shift the question slightly. Instead of asking, “What do we have to change?”, try asking, “What are we already doing well, and how do we build on that?” 
 
Because in many cases, you’re not starting from scratch. 
 
You’re strengthening something that’s already there. 
 
And sometimes, the most encouraging feedback you can receive after a session like this is also the simplest: “It didn’t feel like training.” 
 
I’ll take that as a win — because when compliance conversations feel engaging, relevant and human, that’s when they really start to make a difference.