Charity Collectors and Street appeals

Charity fundraising is a regular feature of city centre streets, and businesses often ask us about the rules and regulations regarding collectors in the CBD. Charity collecting activities are controlled by Council permit and by the voluntary code of conduct of street appeal fundraising organisations.

Fundraising can involve either the collection of cash donations by charities and community organisations, such as the Red Cross and the Heart Foundation and many others, or face to face street appeal fundraising by organisations that ask members of the public to sign up for ongoing contributions. Both kinds of fundraising are regulated by Council bylaws to coordinate the numbers of collectors on the city streets.

Businesses with any concerns about the activities of fundraisers should contact Auckland Council to discuss the issues. In addition, most major street appeal fundraisers belong to the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association, (PFRA), and work to a roster that limits the number of organisations working in an area at any one time Twenty-four charities operate within the PFRA and fundraising is a substantial business, with 61.000 New Zealanders signing up to regularly support a charity last year, donating over $42 millon in that year. Businesses that have any concerns about the conduct of street appeal fundraisers should get in touch with the PFRA, who are a national organisation basesd in Wellington. http://www.pfra.org.nz/

Auckland Council is currently reviewing the current bylaws with the aim of introducing a single region-wide bylaw on Street and Public Places trading. For more information about this review, please refer to the Auckland Council Bylaws under review website page.