​Graham Martin on TFN's decision to investigate the world of the charity fundraiser

Sometimes when a mirror is held up to you, you don’t always like what you see (check out my byline pic for confirmation).

However, where the imperfections are apparent, it would be a case of gross delusion to deny they exist.

TFN has been on the receiving end of criticism for some in the sector for its story last week which lifted the lid on practices used by many in the fundraising industry.

Perhaps mistaking our legitimate investigation to a similarly timed hatchet job by the Daily Mail, we were accused of peddling “lurid tabloid headlines.”

To that l’d say: not guilty and I’d take the opportunity to reaffirm and defend what TFN is for. We are not here to blindly promote everything the voluntary sector does, but to report, analyse and hold to account where appropriate.

TFN will never apologise for holding a mirror to the sector, reflecting the good and the bad

Our ultimate goal is to support and help develop a stronger third sector, and that sometimes means challenging as well as championing.

Our look at fundraising practices was not conjured up out of thin air. It came on the back of mounting concern about how the industry operates: and not just from right wing tabloids.

The Fundraising Standards Board and the Institute of Fundraising are taking a long, hard look at practices and this week Save The Children announced a major, and very welcome, shake up of how it operates. We understand that other major charities will follow suit, so watch this space.

Last week TFN set out to speak to the front-line fundraisers themselves, and they actually painted a nuanced picture: a world of high pressure where the need for charities to undertake fundraising was recognised but where even the fundraisers themselves had misgivings about how it is sometimes done.

We also drew attention to something few people even care about: the toll taken on the workers themselves in this private industry.

Fundraisers and fundraising is vital to the sector, and at a time of statutory cuts, it is becoming even more so. But there’s no point pretending everything is rosy: public perception is key in a crowded market and if we get this wrong, then everything else fails.

And TFN will never apologise for holding a mirror to the sector, reflecting the good and the bad.

Graham Martin is news editor of Third Force News.