Communications, including advertising and promotions, are essential tools for not-for-profits.

Abstract

As the internet and social media has grown, communications are produced more frequently and published more broadly than ever before.
Communications raise special issues for not-for-profits, because getting communication wrong can raise both legal and reputational risks.

There are many laws that apply to public and private communications. Compliance with these laws will reduce both your legal risks, and reputational risks.
The main laws to consider are outlined in this part of the Not-for-Profit Law website.

Your organisation should take special care when communicating about:

Fundraising – for more information go to our Fundraising webpage
Reporting on achievements or activities – make sure you get the facts right
Telling stories about clients or users – make sure you have consent and permissions
Promoting goods, services or events– make sure you get the facts right
Using information that could be plagiarised or the property of another – make sure you protect your own information, and don’t infringe the rights of others
On social media – the same laws apply as to any other communication!
Conducting licensed activities such as minor gambling or competitions (like Bingo) – there are restrictions on what you can say and how you say it, for more information go to our webpage on Raffles and Minor Gaming, and
Talking about competitors, or making negative or potentially defamatory statements