The Institute of Fundraising has been granted chartered status.
The membership body said in a statement today that the Queen had approved its application on Wednesday, paving the way for the organisation to become the Chartered Institute of Fundraising later this year.
The IoF said becoming a chartered body would have benefits including elevating the public view of the fundraising profession, making fundraising a more attractive career and adding to the status of its members.
The membership body first started the process of becoming a chartered body in 2015.
It said the royal charter would not take effect until the royal seal was granted, which involves the seal being attached to a document conferring chartered status on the organisation and is expected to happen in the next few months.
The IoF, which has about 6,000 members, said it hoped to begin operating as the Chartered Institute of Fundraising from April and would launch its new identity and website before its annual convention in the summer.
Peter Lewis, chief executive of the IoF, said: “This is a huge achievement less than 37 years after a few volunteers met for the first time to form what is today the Institute of Fundraising.
“It demonstrates, through the royal charter, formal public recognition across the UK of fundraising as a profession, and of the specialist professional skills fundraisers bring to their work, making the world a better place.”