Negative publicity blamed as face-to-face donors plummet
Face-to-face fundraising is suffering badly after a series of high-profile media attacks, new figures show.
Stats from the Public Fundraising Association (PFRA) shows subscriptions via this method, which involves direct approaches on the street or on the doorstep, have fallen to their lowest level since 2009/10.
Donors recruited by door-to-door fundraising fell by over 15% last year to 583,330, while donors recruited on the street fell to 128,099, a decrease of some 15.9%. Overall, a total of just 711,429 donors were recruited through face-to-face means in 2015/16; the lowest levels seen since 2009/10.
There is more resistance from people on the streets - Peter Hills-Jones
Peter Hills-Jones said there was little doubt adverse publicity had affected donors. "There’s been an additional degree of hostility on both the street and people’s doorsteps, and at least part of that is widely attributed to some of the news stories we had last year.
"Even though most of the stories were about telephone fundraising, there is a general feeling that charities are finding it harder to get their messages through, that there is more resistance from people on the streets to stop and engage in those conversations."
A number of leading charities have ditched agencies for their own in-house fundraising teams and this has affected donations.
Others, such as the RNLI, have ditched the method completely deciding to shore-up the shortfall by using their own reserves.
