iof wessex, june 2016

The future direction of

fundraising - retaining

public trust in charities

[email protected]

Andrew Hind

We should take the long view:597AD - Canterbury

Over 1,400 years of history

• King’s School, Canterbury 597• Order of St John 11th century• Statute of Elizabeth 1601• The Victorian philanthropists – NSPCC 1884• Oxfam 1942• Samaritans 1953• The hospice movement 1967• ChildLine 1986• Help for Heroes 2007

Out in the wider world the storm clouds have broken

• Over the last 5-10 years, trust has been disintegrating in many areas of national life – bankers, MPs, journalists, the BBC

• We have seen a transfer of power to the informed consumer, a transparency agenda fuelled by rolling 24-hour news / social media, and the death of corporate paternalism.

Copyright: Andrew Hind


Olive Cooke – May 2015, when the storm clouds broke over charity fundraising

• Fell to her death in Bristol.• 92 year-old, long-serving

poppy seller.• Received award from PM.• Gave interview to Bristol

Post saying she was “overwhelmed” by charity mailings.

• Her death acted like a lightning conductor


What the FRSB found – part 1• A horrifying story.• Generous supporter of c.20

charities in 2000.• Receiving 3,000 mailings pa by

2015 – how did it happen?• 70 of 99 charities got Mrs

Cooke’s details from other charities or list brokers.

• Only 14 of the 99 provided an opt-out ‘tick box’


First fallout from Olive Cooke – The Mail on Sunday 7/6/15


The assault continues – Mail 7/7/15


What the FRSB found – part 2• Undercover reporters got jobs

in Listen and GoGen.• Big charities were not properly

supervising their agencies.• NSPCC 660,000 calls,

monitored only 0.16%.• BRC, Macmillan, Oxfam had no

record of calls monitored.• Donors misled about the way

their personal data would be used – see also Diabetes UK, Age UK, Dogs Trust reports.


What the FRSB found – part 2• Misleading privacy/fair processing notices:• British Red Cross: “We like to keep supporters in

touch with our work, if you do not wish to receive further communications from the British Red Cross, or agencies working on our behalf, please write to…, or email…”

• Macmillan: “We will contact you from time to time by phone, email, text or post to tell you about how we can support you and how you can get involved with our team.”


Lessons from the fundraising meltdown

• ‘Industrial’ practices of some large charities.

• Exchange of personal data.• Inadequate opt-outs.• Agencies unsupervised.• CEOs and Boards failed to

provide strategic oversight.• Ends justified means, core

values compromised.


And then there was Kids Company

• Lack of board rotation• Insufficient board challenge• Over-dominant CEO• Financial policies ignored• Demand-led strategy• No proper focus on user impact• Complicit donors• No whistle-blowers• Inadequate regulatory oversight


Kids Company’s woes were on front pages for months – Guardian 29.10.15


Open season on charities in the media - eg. Age UK criticised in The Sun 9.2.16


Help for Heroes criticised in MoS 7.2.16


Criticism of high salaries – Times 17.12.15


No let up every weekend – 29.5.16


Public trust in charities appears to finally be falling

• Until now, research has repeatedly shown that public trust was holding up

• Charity Commission surveys

Source: Ipsos MORIDon’t trust them at all

Trust them completely

1%

6%

3%3% 3%5%

23%

10%

5%

19%20%

2%1%4%

18%

11%

8%

22%22%

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

20052008

2005 Mean Score: 6.3 2008 Mean Score: 6.6And improved in 2012: 6.7

Public trust in the distinctive brand of charity


Public trust appears to be falling

• CC 2016 research is in the field right now

• Report in November 2015 from nfpSynergy suggests that only 48% of people trust charities.

• A decline of 18 points since 2013.


February 2016 research by YouGov

• Only 38% of people say charities are trustworthy (down from 54% in 2013)

• 45% say charities have high ethical standards (56%)

• 67% believe fundraising criticism was fair

• 62% say large charities are damaging sector’s image

• Charities complacent in responding to accusations of high pay (72%) and aggressive fundraising (61%)

This leads us to an inescapable conclusion:

‘Unconditional’ public trust can no longer be taken

for granted.


Future developments• Launch of the Fundraising Regulator, to replace

the FRSB, and introduction of the Fundraising Preference Service.

• Charities Act 2016.• Publication of CC20.• NCVO opt-in working party.• New European data protection law requiring

unambiguous consent from donors by 2018 (EU General Data Protection Regulation – GDPR)


First line of defence - trustees• Charities must re-establish the appropriate

balance between their right to ask for funds and the public’s right to say no.

• Does your board own the fundraising practices being undertaken in your charity’s name?

• How are you making sure your charity’s values are always non-negotiable?

• Have you read and actioned CC20 – Charity fundraising: a guide to trustee duties (published only this week)?


First line of defence - trustees

• The six principles in CC20 – June 2016Planning effectivelySupervising your fundraisersProtecting your charity’s reputationComplying with laws and regulations re

fundraising (eg DPA, Charities Act 2016)Following the Code of Fundraising PracticeBeing open and accountable


Second line of defence – the new Fundraising Regulator

• Recommended in the Etherington report• Going live in ‘early summer’- ie next month• A last chance for self-regulation• Controlling the Fundraising Code of Practice• Introducing the Fundraising Preference

Scheme• Bigger budget, tougher powers and sanctions• But still a ‘voluntary’ system


The proposed FPS• Proposed in Regulating Fundraising for the Future

because Mrs Cooke couldn’t stop the deluge.• A ‘reset’ mechanism to stop all fundraising

communications (n/a for those under £1m).• In: addressed mail; phone (incl mobile); email.• Out: unaddressed mail; door-to-door; face-to-face.• FPS working group trying to achieve ‘granularity’.• Might cost charities £2bn if implemented; what

would cost be if not implemented?


Third line of defence – the Charity Commission

• The Commission will engage with serious fundraising matters referred to it by the Fundraising Regulator.

• Will continue to sharpen up guidance.• Public trust in charities depends in large

part on public trust in the regulator.

Behaviours to restore public trust• Respect the right of the public to control how

they wish to engage with us.

• Always focused on the charity’s values.

• Transparent and accountable.

• Independent, non-political.

• Brave and innovative.

• Collaborative, not competitive.Copyright: Andrew Hind

The future direction of

fundraising - retaining

public trust in charities

[email protected]

Andrew Hind

iof wessex, june 2016

Government & Nonprofit