You have specific responsibilities when dealing with a third party (whether that be a corporate partner, commercial participator or specialist supplier).
You must ask yourself three main questions.
- Have you undertaken due diligence to make sure you are working with suitable organisations?
- Have you included safeguarding requirements in the contract or working agreement?
- To what extent are you prepared to engage with a third party that does not have such policies and procedures?
It’s the charity’s responsibility to make sure each of these organisations assures the charity that it has adequate safeguarding policies and procedures (this is a contractual obligation).
- Refer to Section 7 of the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice, which outlines key responsibilities when working with third parties. A new version of the Code will come into effect in November 2025.
- For more information about undertaking due diligence of partners, see our guide for Directors of Operations.
- If you have a safeguarding concern about a partner, you may need to report this to the Charity Commission. Learn more in our guide to reporting safeguarding concerns to regulators.