Chair of Aberlour joins Independent Fundraising Standards panel

Val Surgenor, Chair of the Board at Aberlour, is now a member of The Scottish Fundraising Implementation Group’s Independent Fundraising Standards & Adjudication Panel, which will oversee standards and complaints about charities in Scotland. 

The panel will be chaired by Alison Elliot, associate director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues, University of Edinburgh, and will include Val Surgenor, partner at MacRoberts law firm , Jay Butler, an SCVO trustee, non-executive director of NHS 24 and Apex Scotland, Sheila Logan, a data protection adviser, Trainer and Cathy Bell of Glasgow University, Paul Drury of Bethany Christian Trust,  Ann-Marie Devlin, head of fundraising at Sense Scotland and chair of the Institute of Fundraising’s standards committee, and  Michelle Armstrong, corporate and community fundraising manager at Cancer Research UK.

The panel is tasked with encouraging a system of enhanced self-regulation for fundraising in Scotland.

Surgenor, who was already chair of the implementation group, said: “The creation of an independent panel to oversee and promote better fundraising practice, and to adjudicate on matters where such practice isn’t implemented, is an exciting new development for charities and donors in Scotland.

“It provides a system of enhanced self-regulation. Developed within the context of what works already in Scotland, it presents an opportunity for charities in Scotland to enhance their already strong relationship and trust with their donors and supporters.

“Alongside the independent panel, a fundraising guarantee will specify how the public can expect to be treated by fundraisers. This is another commitment that signals how strongly charities value the support of their donors.”