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Abolition of cheques cause concern to charities 3

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 25 Nov 2009

Proposals to abolish the use of cheques within a decade has prompted a mixed response from charities, as the Institute of Fundraising pledges to consult with its members over a possible unified reaction to the move.

The Payments Council, a body consisting of bank and independent representatives, will meet next month to discuss the possibility of phasing out cheques by 2018. The proposal is prompted by a dramatic decline in cheque usage – from 11 million in 1990 to less than four million according to most recent figures.

Debbie Pearce, head of fundraising and marketing at the Donkey Sanctuary, is concerned that the move “could have a serious impact on charities”. The charity receives more than 70 per cent of its income via cheque.

“We rely on the little-and-often approach from an older supporter base,” she said. The charity had a “taste of things to come” during the postal strike during which many elderly supporters, concerned that letters would not make it to the charity, attempted to pay over the phone by card. “For some of them it was the first time they had ever used their card as a debit card,” she said.

“It was very time-consuming to talk them through,” she added. She said that for younger donors cheques would be entirely foreign, “but nine years is too soon”.

“We don’t need barriers to people giving us a payment, and we see that doing away with cheques could provide that last little ‘will I, wont I?’-barrier to a person who is not comfortable using their card over the phone giving a cheque,” she said.

“It’s scary if they’re going to do away with it in that time frame,” she said. “There are many, many other charities like us.”

Meanwhile, Jewish Care is more optimistic, noting that a number of its major donors in particular are already using internet banking to make large donations. Assistant director of fundraising Benjamin Morrison, however, told Civil Society that "we know that 70 per cent of our supporter base is over 70 and through past experience of converting standing orders to direct debts, are resistant to change”.

Laura Pennycuick, spokeswoman for the National Association of Hospice Fundraisers, said that hospices receive money from a variety of sources, but “obviously if this is going to happen then it will be a massive change and we will all look at what we do”.

“We do have a lot of cheques at the moment and it’s something we need to look at,” she said. She said that the move was not catastrophic, adding that there is plenty of time to prepare for the change. She said she had faith that charities were innovative enough to withstand such a “massive change”.

Institute considering options

The Institute of Fundraising’s director of policy and campaigns Louise Richards said that the Institute is not yet doing anything on the issue, but “it’s something we’re looking into”.

“What we would like to do is sound out our members about that and once we’ve looked in to it in a bit more detail, if it’s something that’s going to affect our members in a big way then it’s certainly something we want to take up,” she said.

Pearce said the Donkey Sanctuary would be asking the Institute to put pressure on the Payments Council. “I would hope the Institute would respond swiftly and vigorously.”

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Directory: Institute of Fundraising