If you are not happy with how we have treated you or your application, you can make a complaint directly to us.
Our complaints procedure is for complaints about how we have treated you or your application, for our programmes such as:
- Networks Funding
- Diversity Development Programme
- Culture Change
- Brave Futures
- Fundraising Fellowship
Ensuring Best Practice
We adhere to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s principles of good complaint handling:
- Getting it right
- Being customer focused
- Being open and accountable
- Acting fairly and proportionately
- Putting things right
- Seeking continuous improvement
Making a complaint will in no way affect the level of service you receive from us, nor will it impact your chances of receiving a grant or support from us in the future.
We are committed to listening to your concerns and welcome the opportunity to improve our services through complaints. When making a complaint, we will ensure we:
- Listen carefully to complaints and treat complaints as confidential, where possible
- Record, store and manage all complaints accurately and in accordance with the Data protection Act
- Investigate the complaint fully, objectively and within the stated time frame
- Notify the complainant of the results of the investigation and any right of appeal
- Inform the complainant of any action that will be implemented to ensure that there is no re-occurrence
- Report on an annual basis the number of complaints received, the outcomes and any actions taken
Making a Complaint
You can make a complaint if you feel:
- We have delayed, made mistakes or failed to follow our processes when handling your application to us
- We have failed to give you access to information or have given you incorrect advice or information
- We have not treated you politely
- We have unlawfully discriminated against you or treated you unfairly
If you are unsure if your experience fits with the above, please contact us at [email protected]
You must submit your complaint to us within three months of the action or event to which it relates.
If you make a complaint outside of this timeframe, then it may not be possible to investigate through this formal process. We will keep all complaints confidential; if you make a complaint, we will treat you with respect, and we ask that you treat our staff in the same way.
To help us resolve your complaint, please tell us:
- What happened
- When it happened
- Who dealt with you
- What you would like us to do to put things right
Please include all the information you feel is relevant, including any correspondence you have received. Please do not worry if you don’t have all this information as we can fill in the gaps with you before we begin to investigate.
You should send your complaint to [email protected] or send it via post to Cause4 Ltd, The Business Centre, Croxton Road, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 1JD. If you experience or anticipate any barriers to submitting your complaint, you can email or call us on 020 7246 2963.
After we have received your complaint, we will contact you to acknowledge it within 20 working days. If we can identify how and where something may have gone wrong, we will be committed to making things right as soon as possible.
If your concerns require further consideration, we will move through the following stages:
Stage One: A member of our Senior Management Team will work with you to outline the details of your complaint. Once you agree that we fully understand your concerns, we will investigate and respond in writing. Our response will include a copy of our investigation to ensure transparency.
If at this stage you believe we have failed to investigate sufficiently, not fully addressed your concerns or not provided a fair and proportionate resolution, you can ask our Chief Executive to review your complaint at Stage Two.
Stage Two: Our Chief Executive will appoint an independent investigator to address your concerns and work with you to outline the details of your complaint. Once you agree that they fully understand your concerns, they will investigate and provide the Chief Executive with a report. The Chief Executive will use this report to inform their opinion and write to you to explain their findings and conclusions.
If we agree with your complaint, we will uphold or partially uphold it. We will then provide a fair and proportionate resolution. Each resolution is unique to the situation raised, but typically, we may apologise, re-enter an application at the point an error is identified or explain how we intend to make improvements.
We are unable to reverse decisions or provide financial compensation as a resolution through this complaints process. If you feel unsatisfied with the result of the complaint, you should be advised that there is no further right of appeal with Cause4; alternatively, at this stage you may approach a solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau for further guidance.
Using Personal Data
If you use our complaints procedure, we will collect personal data from you to help us consider and respond to your complaint, and to help us monitor the quality of our responses. We will keep all information provided in relation to complaints confidential.
- What happened
- When it happened
- Who dealt with you
- What you would like us to do to put things right
For further information on what personal data we collect, what we do with it and who we may share it with, see our Privacy Notice.
We welcome any comments or suggestions to help us improve our services. Please send any comments, questions or feedback to [email protected] or call us on 020 7246 2963.