I am a fundraiser and I work for one of the UK’s largest charities. I manage a team of fundraisers who are responsible for mail, telephone and email campaigns asking our supporters if they can give more money. I wholeheartedly believe, not only in the cause I am raising money for, but also in the methods we use to raise it.
At the beginning of July the Daily Mail began its campaign lambasting the charity sector’s fundraising methods with a particular focus on telemarketing, and one telemarketing agency in particular, GoGen.
These reports have been devastating for the charity sector. On a personal level waking every morning to see another unsubstantiated article attacking my job was incredibly frustrating. This frustration was felt across my whole team and organisation too. Frustration and powerlessness; the articles kept coming, seemingly without end, and there was nothing we could do to stop them or even counter their claims.
Following the allegations a number of charities, including the one I work for, stopped working with GoGen. And, because we stopped telephone fundraising – the charity has lost hundreds of thousands of pounds of income in the short-term, and will lose millions in the long-term. This income would have improved the lives of countless beneficiaries. Ultimately this action also led to the closure of GoGen, an organisation that employed around 500 people and had raised hundreds of millions of pounds, not just for the charity I work for, but numerous others.
The only thing that is worse than the damage these reports have done to the charity sector is the charity sector’s own unwillingness to defend its right to ask. I am proud to be a fundraiser, I am proud of the ways in which we fundraise and I am proud that these fundraising methods mean that people who need support are able to receive it.
I am proud because fundraising is fundamental to the continued existence of charities. If charities can’t fundraise the stark truth is that they will cease to exist. Of course fundraising should always be carried out with integrity, no one is more aware of this than the people who work in the sector. Charities are only as good as their reputations and we all know that without the trust of the public we won’t be able raise any money.
That is why charities are very careful about how and when they ask for money. That is why we only work with third party agencies that we trust. That is why we regularly visit the agencies we work with and listen to calls to ensure our high standards are met. And, that is why we already have policies in place to protect the vulnerable. Instead of hanging our heads in shame the sector should be uniting and shouting from the rooftops about the amazing work we do, work which is only made possible by asking people for money.
Despite its claims of victory the Daily Mail’s campaign has done little more than damage the sector’s ability to fundraise for worthy causes. The facts are that the proposals made since the media’s attention turned to fundraising are nothing new, there are already plenty of codes of practice in place to ensure that fundraising is carried out with the best interests of the donor at heart.
This week the Daily Mail turned its attention to door to door fundraising, the impact they will have here is yet to be seen but one thing is certain, the sector must organise itself and stand up for its right to ask. If it doesn’t it’s likely we will come to a point where charities can no longer function and the vital services provided by the countless charities in this country won’t be available to anyone.
Confessions of a charity professional is the Guardian Voluntary Sector Network’s anonymous series where charity workers tell it how it is. If you would like to pitch us an idea, click here.
