Accessibility Links

• Skip to content
• Skip to navigation
• Skip to search
• Skip to right column
• Skip to footer
• Access key Help

• Home
• England Home
  • Public
  • Fundraisers
  • News
  • Useful Links
  • Contact Us
  • Adjudications
  • Members

• England
• Scotland
• Cymru

• MAKE A COMPLAINT
• BECOME A MEMBER
• SEARCH FOR A MEMBER

Public wants more say in their relationship with charities

23 Nov 2007

The public has strong views about the direct mail that they receive from charities says research published today. They want some say about how often the charities they support contact them and have those wishes respected; they don’t think it is acceptable for charities to exaggerate although the majority of givers don’t mind the use of shocking images; they are concerned about the environmental issues surrounding unwanted mail and they are unhappy with gifts or incentives in direct mail according to research carried out by the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB).

According to the report, Signed, sealed and delivered, the need for respect of people’s wishes and their privacy was strongly indicated with 77% of regular givers said they wanted some say in how often charities contact them. Nearly two thirds expected charities to respect their privacy and the rules applying to direct mail more than business does and 76% of the charity supporters involved in the research felt it was not acceptable for charities to swap names and addresses with other charities to gain more donors.

More charities are now including gifts and incentives like pens, shopping bags, gloves and umbrellas in mailings but the research shows that this doesn’t go down well with the both the public and regular donors. 90% think that money spent on gifts might be better spent on the charity’s cause and 70% that charities put gifts in to make people feel guilty about getting something for nothing.

There appears to be little tolerance of over-statement in direct mail messages with 72% feeling strongly that they don’t think that charities should exaggerate when appealing for donations in direct mail but they are more equivocal about the use of shocking or distressing images, accepting that charities have to deal with difficult and upsetting issues, although some caution needs to be exercised.

Over 2000 members of the public and charity supporters were surveyed by the Fundraising Standards Board, the new self regulatory organisation for fundraising in the UK. These public views will feed into a new code of practice that is being developed by the Institute of Fundraising.

“Direct mail is a very important method of fundraising that involves a two way process with the general public” said Jon Scourse, chief executive of the FRSB. “Done well, it has been proven to be very effective in building relationships between the donor and their chosen charity. This is the first time that their views have been sought and it’s important that their experiences and opinions are heard and taken account of as a new code of practice is developed”.

“Members of the FRSB will have to abide by this code when it is developed, so it needs to be workable and have considered the views of the public who are recipients of this method of fundraising. The new code needs to give the public confidence to give to charities”.

£9 billion is raised by charities every year and direct mail plays a major part in this with the top 14 spending charities spending approximately £70m a year. The research shows that it is still a useful way to encourage people to give to charity.

You can download the Executive Summary of the FRSB report in pdf format. The full report is available for £10. To request a copy please email samw@frsb.org.uk.

Ends

For further information contact:

Bonnie Green

bonnieg@frsb.org.uk

020 7091 1600 or 07774 650 391

For Scotland: Kate Higgins

kateh@frsb.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

1. About the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB)

The Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) administers the scheme for the self-regulation of fundraising in the UK. It strives to encourage the highest standards of fundraising practice by all fundraising organisations, regardless of their size and status. The scheme logo, displayed by all members, is a mark of reassurance to the public that they are committed to being honest, legal and open in their fundraising activities. As well as broadcasting members’ high standards of fundraising, the scheme underpins this with a complaints process.

Its role also enables the carrying out or commissioning research into relevant fundraising methods, practices, trends and other matters of interest to the public and to organisations raising funds for good causes and to disseminate the results of that research.

www.frsb.org.uk

2. Methodology

The research was carried out in two parts. The first part was undertaken by nfpSynergy through its charity awareness monitor (CAM). The CAM is a regular tracking survey of the public’s knowledge, understanding, attitudes and awareness of charities and their activities. The FRSB has subscribed to nfpSynergy’s syndicate and consequently has the opportunity to place questions on charity related issues. The fieldwork for this CAM survey was undertaken between 31st July and 6th August 2007. A nationally representative sample of 1000 adults aged 16 and over and who live in mainland Britain was surveyed using an online questionnaire. The fieldwork was undertaken for nfpSynergy by Research Now.

www.nfpsynergy.net

The second part of the research was undertaken by the Fundraising Standards Board with the assistance of eight of its charity members. These organisations undertook to send a questionnaire to 600 of their donors on their database. The participating charities were:

A total of 4800 self-completion questionnaires were sent out, 1232 were returned using freepost envelopes, giving a response rate of 26%. This response rate compares favourably with the average response rate for market research of this type. The charities participating in the research were based throughout the UK, some operating only in one region or country. The organisations are of different sizes and operate in a range of sectors. Each charity was asked to send the survey to a sample of their donors comprised as follows:

This weighting was to ensure that the survey was completed by a cross-section of donors, with the aim of providing a more accurate picture of the experience and views of people who had and who do respond to direct mail.

Scotinform Ltd was retained to provide guidance in the drafting of the questionnaire and to process the data so that findings were robust and independent. They printed and issued the survey forms with fieldwork being undertaken between 7 and 21 September 2007.

www.scotinform.co.uk

3. Whilst the participating charities have commented on the content of the report, the conclusions reached are those of the FRSB and do not necessarily represent the opinions or experiences of any of the charities involved.