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TS-FS-05 Trust & Stewardship Financial Stewardship CORE Compliance v2.9.7

Fundraising costs fairly reported

This criterion assesses whether the organization transparently and accurately reports the costs associated with its fundraising activities. Fair reporting of fundraising costs is essential for donor trust, regulatory compliance, and effective resource management. It specifically requires avoiding selective netting or exclusions that create a misleading impression that fundraising is ‘free’ or that all donations reach beneficiaries without explaining how fundraising and core operations are funded.

Compliance 4
  • SoFA notes disclose apportionment bases, comparative figures, and material changes per SORP.
    Compliance Essential
  • Documented and tested methodology for allocating joint costs (SORP criteria).
    Process Essential
  • Written agreements with professional fundraisers including GDPR roles, fees, and statutory statements.
    Legal Essential
  • Substantiation of any “100% to the cause” claims with explanation of alternative funding.
    Quality Essential
Good 2
  • Define and document ‘fundraising costs’, ‘voluntary income’, and support cost treatment in a policy.
    Documentation Essential
  • Reconciliation from general ledger to SoFA with committee review.
    Process Essential
Better 3
  • Published fundraising cost ratio with 'Definitions' appendix
    Transparency High
  • Trustees’ Annual Report links fundraising investment to public benefit/impact
    Reporting High
  • Disclosure of acquisition payback periods
    Transparency High
Best 2
  • Independent verification (e.g., Agreed-Upon Procedures)
    Assurance High
  • Multi-year cohort analysis and LTV:CAC
    Analytics High

Related Criteria

TS-FS-01 Trustees review management accounts TS-FS-02 Banking, procurement & AML controls TS-FS-03 Robust accounting system TS-FS-04 Segregate and control Zakat vs Sadaqah (ledgers, banking, donor intent) TS-FS-06 Statutory accounts externally audited/examined with clean outcome and filed on time (all applicable regulators)
Version
2.9.7 2025-11-05

Discussion (1)

Administrator 2026-03-07 11:07:47.591551

📋 **Version updated: 1.0.0 → 2.9.7** **Changes:** Updated islamic_references from mizan-297.json

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