Charity fundraising tactics are facing further scrutiny this week following an undercover investigation from the Daily Mail. It found that the telephone fundraising company used by leading charities such as the NSPCC, British Red Cross, Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Research UK and Oxfam routinely asked vulnerable members of the public to commit to direct debit donations.
This investigation, along with allegations that poppy-seller Olive Cooke was overwhelmed with charity fundraising requests when she took her own life, has led voluntary sector regulators to assess their code of practice and the Information Commissioner to investigate the tactics used by some charities.
Easy to blame #charities for this UK #fundraising mess but to me the problem lies with underlying economic model http://t.co/SytU0bI9jB
— Megan Rowling (@meganrowling) July 7, 2015
Public trust and donations remain essential for charities to carry out the work that they do – both of which have been jeopardised by the Daily Mail’s investigation and other similar reports. So what next? Should all charities follow in Save the Children’s footsteps and promise not to share their donors’ data or cold call them? Are the current or proposed forms of self-regulation sufficient? How can charities continue to raise essential funds and assure their donors they can trust them, in light of these reports?
Whether you’re a fundraiser, donor, charity professional or member of the public, please share your views in the comment thread below on what you think the future of charity fundraising should hold.
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