For years, charities have had one hand tied behind their back compared to commercial businesses when it comes to email and text marketing.
Commercial organisations have long been able to market to existing customers on an opt-out basis, using what's known as the "soft opt-in."
Charities could not do the same with their supporters, even when someone had just made a donation or signed up to hear more about their work.
That changed on 5 February this year, when the Data Use and Access Act extended the soft opt-in to cover charitable purposes for the first time.
At this year's Fundraising Convention, Russell Peterken, Head of Fundraising Compliance at the British Heart Foundation, and Hannah Lyons, Partner and fundraising lawyer at Bates Wells, unpacked what the change actually means in practice, and where the grey areas still lie.
