Partners in Fundraising Award

The Partners in Fundraising Awards are a celebration by the charity sector of the contribution of organisations who work with in the sector.

As an agency working solely within the sector we are delighted that partners in Fundraising are recognised.  This year we are especially pleased  that Future Fundraising has been nominated for the Best Face to Face Fundraising Award.

The winners will be announced on Thursday 24th January 2013, at an evening event at the Nursery Pavilion at Lords Cricket Ground.

The judging panel is chaired by Kevin Kibble and the judging panel includes:

Debra Allcock-Tyler, Chief executive, DSC

Debra Allcock Tyler has been chief executive of the Directory of Social Change since 2001.

Pauline Broomhead, CEO, The FSI

Pauline Broomhead is the founding CEO of the FSI, a charity she set up with Emma Harrison focused on arming small charities with the best learning opportunities to secure a sustainable future.

Sir Stephen Bubb, CEO, ACEVO

Stephen Bubb is Chief Executive of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO). In 2007 he became Secretary General of Euclid Network, the European body for Third Sector leaders

Sally de la Bedoyere, CEO, PFRA

Sally de la Bedoyere joined the PFRA in August 2012, moving from the RSPCA, where she spent two years as the charity’s first director of income generation.

Sir Stuart Etherington, CEO, NCVO

Sir Stuart Etherington was appointed Chief Executive of NCVO in 1994.  NCVO is a membership organisation that represents the interests of charities and voluntary bodies. It has over 8,400 member organisations.  Previously he was Chief Executive of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, a major UK charity.

Alistair McLean, CEO, FRSB

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As Darren Luff, Head of Fundraising at Mencap puts it:

“We’ve been working in partnership with Future Fundraising for 2 years and I can honestly say that they have an amazing approach to face-to-face fundraising. They work extremely hard on their training and their fundraisers are full of enthusiasm and passion for Mencap and its work. Their account handling, donor analysis and communication is of a very high quality and we’ve worked very closely with them to achieve the best possible results.

This year all clients were invited to a two-day conference where we were able to really get a sense of what we were trying to achieve with donors and understanding the journey that both supporters and fundraisers take. We’ve embraced a lot of this learning and are now incorporating this into our activity.

Overall it’s been a real pleasure to work with Future Fundraising and it’s had a positive impact financially and emotionally, both internally and externally. We hope to continue this relationship for years to come.

Following Lord Hodgson’s Review of the Charities Act 2006, Future Fundraising welcome the proposals outlined by the review that call for all Local Authorities to engage with the PFRA (the self-regulatory body for Face to Face fundraising) in order to set up approved Site Management Agreements. We feel this is a positive reinforcement of the PFRA’s existing management of site allocations for F2F.

His review also suggests that Face to Face fundraising should not be banned by Local Authorities, which of course we also welcome where is may assist in opening up currently blocked areas, such as parts of the West Midlands, where at present prospecting is allowed but traditional F2F activity is not condoned.

Lord Hodgson is also calling for the sector to adopt more self-regulation and is citing the PFRA as a good example of this working in practice, with a positive response from Local Authorities that have already engaged with them.

However, he is suggesting that FRSB & IoF drive the formation of a working group/standing committee that would oversee all Public Charitable collections, initially chaired by the Cabinet Office with core membership of Charity Commission, FRSB and IOF, extending to wider membership for others such as the PFRA, the Charity Retail Association, Textile Recycling Association (for clothing donations) and the LGA. This group would be tasked to devise recommendations on regulating all public charitable collections within the next 6 months. He has said PFRA and Face to Face collections should be brought into the licensing regime along with all other charitable collections (i.e. F2F, clothing collections, cash, etc.).

We suggest that our clients celebrate the successes of self-regulation as driven by PFRA (the Review highlights that the LGA reported 74% satisfaction among those authorities that use PFRA to manage site agreements), and the increased levels of transparency and accountability that the PFRA is helping the F2F sector achieve (DARS included!).

We need to caution that the PFRA is not side-lined when the FRSB and the IoF set up this review of how to extend self-regulation across the entire public fundraising spectrum. Future Fundraising advocates the PFRA’s association with the group, at such a point where membership is extended beyond the founding core bodies.

MK 19.07.12

Charities were asked for the first time about face to face fundraising taking place on private sites like shopping malls.  Previously the only options were whether the donors signed up to support the charity by meeting a fundraiser in the street, or on the door step.

Rupert Tappin and Morag fleming present DARS 2012

Results showed that donor retention was highest for donors recruited on private sites, followed by those recruited on the door, and that attrition was highest for those recruited on the street.  “ However, these results should be seen in the context of return on investment,” commented Rupert Tappin, “there are additional costs for private sites, and street fundraising is less targeted than on the door.”

The overall impression of the DARS Survey for 2012 which gave a partial picture of 2011 and a full picture of F2F in 2010, is that donor attrition has remained steady.  Considering the economic climate, it could be expected that a much greater number of donors would be failing to make payments.

“This was a welcome surprise” commented Morag Fleming, “and we could conclude that face to face fundraising is being done better, meeting all the PFRA standards, and that donor communication has improved.”

The DARS survey was developed by Rupert Tappin and Morag Fleming and has been published for the last 5 years.  It aims to provide a benchmark to help charities manage donor attrition and retain more donors for their cause. It is sponsored by the PFRA (Public Fundraising Regulatory Association)

* Donor Acquisition and Retention Survey

The results of the 2012 survey will be presented by Rupert Tappin and Morag Fleming at the PFRA AGM on 19th June.  If you are a member of the PFRA we look forward to seeing you there.

The survey was pioneered by Rupert and Morag and is now in its fifth year.  It provides a benchmark for donor acquisition and retention, and together with analysis by Professor Adrian Sargeant contributes to strategies designed to minimise attrition and enhance donor retention for charities and third sector organisations.

The public naturally can feel awkward if they are approached.   However, as an agency involved in asking the public to become regular givers we know from feedback that donors are often inspired by the fundraiser.  In fact, this is a regular occurrence.

Here’s an article about fundraisers which uses the term chuggers (charity + muggers) but is not the usual blame-piece.  Very refreshing.

Blue Sky group thinking at the Fundraising for the Future Lab

We all know it is a good idea to get away from your desk to think about the things that really matter.  Face-to-face fundraising and regular giving really matters to us so we went far away from London to beautiful Loch Ness last week to explore how we can do it better.

The only person who had a short journey was Morag Fleming, our Account Director, who also hails from Scotland.  She was thrilled, of course, that for once we were all going north, instead of her coming south to visit us.

We were a select group of staff and clients, discussing regular giving fundraising from many different angles.  It was a brainstorming laboratory environment so our conversations were confidential, allowing us to really think outside the box and push the boundaries of best practice.  As a group we came up with lots of ways to not only challenge negative perceptions of face-to-face fundraising but develop this important and often undervalued revenue stream for charities.

It was exciting and refreshing to take time out in a different environment and to be working together as a group committed to fundraising for the future.

Rupert Tappin and Morag Fleming (Photo credit: HowardLake)

“By measuring attrition more carefully we can isolate the variables which contribute to donor retention.  This is vital information for the sector as a whole, and especially important in the current economic climate” says Rupert Tappin.

Charities have until 13th April to submit information.  If your charity has not already heard from the PFRA with the survey please telephone them on 020 7401 8452 to request your copy.

“This year the information is easier to submit,”  comments Morag Fleming ” as it is all contained in the single document with drop-down menu options.”

It is a great opportunity to network with colleagues and charity clients.  Of course it will also be fun to get into our glad rags, have a great dinner, and yes, catch up on our dancing skills!

As well as our daily activities we love discussing the bigger picture of fundraising and donor engagement and retention.  It will be fascinating to listen to Robyn Scott… social entrepreneur.

The agency, which said it worked with 18 major not-for-profits including the National Deaf Children’s Society and Rethink Mental Illness, ceased trading on Friday

Charities that used the street fundraising company Gift Fundraising to carry out face-to-face fundraising have said they will continue to use the method, despite the agency going into administration last week.

Gift Fundraising, the UK’s largest and longest-established street fundraising company, went into voluntary administration and stopped trading on Friday with the loss of 300 fundraising jobs. The company said it worked for 18 major not-for-profit organisations.

James Huitson, associate director fundraising at Rethink Mental Illness, which used the agency, said the move would have a short-term impact on how the charity would raise money. But he said Rethink had planned for street fundraising to be a key part in the growth of its donor income over the next few years.

“Face-to-face is an important component of how we raise money,” he said. “I would hope it’s something we can find a way to continue to do in the future.”

Third Sector.

To find out  more read the article in full from Third Sector