Corporate partnerships policy

1. Our fundraising commitment

We aim to achieve excellence in fundraising, ensuring that all our activities are transparent, fair, honest, and legal. This is reflected in our supporter promise, a copy of which is available on our website: Our supporter promise

We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and follow the fundraising Codes of Practice: fundraisingregulator.org.uk/directory/macular-disease-society/

2. How we work with partners

Our vision is to end macular disease. To realise our vision, we will build partnerships with like-minded organisations. These include campaigning groups, companies, research institutes, and universities.

3. Our mission and aims

Our mission is beating the fear and isolation of macular disease by funding world-class research and providing the best advice and support.

The aims guiding delivery of our mission are:

Finding a cure

We will be the largest funder of eye research in the sight loss sector and be known for our commitment to finding a cure for macular disease. From 2023 we intend to fund about £6m of internationally important research every year.

The best advice and support

We want good information and advice to support all with macular disease as well as their families. We will expand our membership and our services – face to face, telephone, and digital - so that no-one has to face macular disease alone.

Vision matters

We want everyone in the UK to know what their macula is, to understand how to protect their vision, and to consider routine eye health checks. Health policy makers should understand the significance of eye health and the importance of prioritising macular disease.

We will work only with third parties sharing these aims. We do so because in this way we may be able to secure additional benefit for those whom the Society exists to support.

4. Our fundraising principles

4.1. Working with like-minded organisations

We will actively seek funding from third parties if they support our aims and share our principles whilst respecting our intellectual independence.

4.2. Maintaining independence

We need to ensure that we maintain our independence and do everything we can to cure macular disease. We will not work with organisations seeking to influence or constrain our intellectual independence or use a partnership solely or mainly to advance their own commercial agenda.

4.3. Transparency

We will not accept funds derived from activities that give us reasonable grounds for supposing that they might be illicit. Support from a third party will be acknowledged on our website and in our printed materials. We do this not only to make our gratitude visible but also to be transparent about the source of the support we have received thereby.

4.4. Working with the pharmaceutical industry

We will work with the pharmaceutical industry only within the guidelines of the ABPI code: abpi.org.uk/reputation/abpi-2021-code-of-practice/

4.5. Industries we will not work with

Smoking exacerbates conditions that impair vision and so we will not work with manufacturers of tobacco products.

5. How do we reach decisions on these issues?

We will undertake due diligence on all our corporate partnerships. We may raise our findings to the Society’s Ethics Committee, which will assess the benefits and risks and make a recommendation to Council.