Neighbourhood Watch says 77% of people don't want to be asked for donations on their doorstep
The unpopularity of charity cold-calling and doorstepping strategies has been starkly revealed in a new survey.
Neighbourhood Watch Scotland (NWS) has found that most people don’t want someone chapping their door asking for donations.
An alarming amount of those surveyed said they felt under “some duress” to give to charities during these encounters.
The poll has led to calls for reform of how charities are allowed to operate on doorsteps.
NWS’s survey showed that most people (78%) said they “minded” charities calling personally to ask for cash.
Similar numbers (77%) thought charities should not continue to ask for doorstep donations.
We would welcome a review of doorstep fundraising practices to take into account the safety and peace of mind of residents
However, while unpopular, it seems the technique is lucrative – the survey showed that a significant amount of money is handed over, with 59% saying they had given money on their doorstep.
NWS says a significant amount of this appears to have been done under “some duress” with 58% of people reporting that they have at some point felt pressurised into giving money.
More work needs to be done to both increase the numbers of No Cold Calling Zones (NCCZ) and to spread awareness of them, NWS said.
There is also a lack of clarity on whether NCCZs apply to charity fundraisers.
While almost 90% thought charities should honour No Cold Calling stickers those actually involved in the zones often aren’t in agreement about whether there’s a charity exception.
One person told surveyors: “there are many members of the NCCZ scheme who would like charity collections to continue and many others who do not want any cold callers at all.”
As a result, genuine charity fundraisers are often unclear about whether they are welcome in an area with the result that a significant number of correspondents complained about major charities “ignoring” NCCZs or, when challenged, claiming that there is an exception for them because “they are not selling anything”.
Many of those otherwise opposed to cold calls from charities were inclined to make an exception when the call involved either local causes or local fundraisers that they knew.
Bogus callers masquerading as charity collectors were a particular concern – but the survey found a significant number of the “unwanted and unpleasant” interactions involved bona fide fundraisers.
In many cases the problem was exacerbated by the fundraiser arriving after dark, sometimes after 9pm, which many found “inappropriate”.
Lisa Toon of NWS said: “We would welcome a review of doorstep fundraising practices to take into account the safety and peace of mind of residents.”
Calls were made earlier this year for the code of conduct related to doorstep fundraising to be updated following an investigation made into complaints about a fundraiser working for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
The Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB), which investigates complaints, called for the Institute of Fundraising code to be reviewed.
It wants clearer rules in relation to no cold calling signs and a review of how late at night fundraisers can visit people’s homes.
Earlier this year, the FRSB revealed that the number of complaints about doorstep fundraising had increased by 93% in 12 months.
