This year has seen some new challenges, as well as the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The UK charitable fundraising sector was affected by global and national events including the invasion of Ukraine, floods in Pakistan and the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The British public responded generously to appeals from charities, as well as launching grassroots campaigns. We also saw evidence of concerns about scams and wanting to give to the ‘right’ place. We responded both reactively and proactively to inform and protect the public, partnering with others such as the Chartered Institute and Charity Commission for England and Wales to promote key messages on safer giving. This included looking out for the Fundraising Badge – the logo that says, ‘registered with Fundraising Regulator’. This is a key part of our safer giving guidance for the public and this year we invested in research to investigate recognition of the badge. We were thrilled to discover that 20% of respondents (research conducted by NFP Research) had seen the Fundraising Badge in the past nine months. We were also delighted to discover that 73% of respondents said they would be more confident in supporting a charity that displayed the Fundraising Badge. These results are not just an encouraging endorsement of our public engagement but also a reminder to the fundraising organisations which are registered with us that the Fundraising Badge is a vital resource to be used in campaign planning and marketing.
We also published our Annual Complaints Report 2020/21, which in turn reflected the changing environment. Data reported by a sample of the largest fundraising charities that we surveyed shows that most have returned to in-person fundraising methods, such as door-to-door and in-person collections, after this activity was restricted by the pandemic. However, the volume of in-person fundraising activity generally remains below pre-pandemic levels, suggesting the sector may still be navigating the impact of this period.
The report also highlighted that while vulnerability was explicitly mentioned in a handful of our cases, it was a theme that was threaded through many of the complaints we received. Vulnerability can be hard to identify, which means fundraisers need to be vigilant as a prospect or donors' vulnerability may not be immediately recognisable. Following best practice is a starting point but charities and fundraisers will need to be flexible in their approach and response if a donor is identified as potentially being vulnerable.
The number of complaints to the sample charities rose proportionally for most methods in line with increased fundraising activity – with 13 of the 23 fundraising methods having increased complaint numbers in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21. However, the overall number of complaints had decreased since 2019/20 which is reflective of changes in fundraising activity as well as demonstrating the sector’s commitment to high standards of fundraising.
This year we also launched our new Strategic Plan for 2022-27. It is an exciting time at the Fundraising Regulator and in the fundraising space overall, and our new strategic direction reflects this. Collaboration is at the core of our work, and we want to ensure that we are bringing in views from across the sector and wider public. As part of this we launched a review of the Code of Fundraising Practice in October. The initial phase included a call for information– a key opportunity for us to learn from those who fundraise, give, volunteer or who access the charitable sector in any way. The review will span two years, during which time there will be engagement and consultation opportunities across the sector. This is just one example of the ways we can ensure that fundraisers and the public have a greater voice in developing our policies.
The fundraising sector faces a challenging environment, with the cost of living crisis likely to have an impact on both donations to charities and demand for services. Strong and independent fundraising regulation will help the sector to navigate these difficult circumstances.