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Door-to-door complaints skyrocket as FRSB reports complaints up 67 per cent 3

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 8 Jun 2010

Door-to-door fundraising recorded the biggest increase in complaints from the public last year, according to the Fundraising Standard’s Board annual report.

The fundraising mechanism drew 2,106 complaints in 2009, up 340 per cent from 2008 levels, against an increase in volume of only 78 per cent.

The FRSB’s annual report showed an overall increase in complaints of 67 per cent, to just under 13,000, but this is set against an expansion of the organisation’s membership and a dramatic improvement in the number of organisations reporting – up to 84 per cent last year as opposed to under two thirds the year before. Nineteen complaints reached stage two adjudication - one less than last year – and none made it to the more serious stage three. The 13,000 complaints arose from more than 2.7bn donor contacts.

But while door-to-door reported the most dramatic rise in complaint numbers, an increase the FRSB suggested could be put down to “more members, better reporting and higher response rates”, direct mail remains king of the fundraising complaints, attracting more than 5,000 complaints – 42 per cent of the total. Still, just direct mail attracts just three complaints in every 100,000 donor contacts.

Telephone fundraising pipped door-to-door to be the second most complained about fundraising mechanism, but with much lower volumes than reported in the latter approach.

While street fundraising last year gained its typically high level of public and media criticism, chuggers drew fewer complaints than raffle fundraising. However, charities appeared to dramatically reduce their street fundraising efforts last year, with member organisations reporting less than half the number of donor contacts in 2009 compared to 2008 - the most dramatic fall of any fundraising mechanism reported to the FRSB.

New media fared best of all in the complaint stakes, with dramatic year-on-years rises in donor contacts for both email (up 626 per cent) and online generally (825 per cent), but only mild increases in complaint levels of 11 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

Alistair McLean, chief executive of the FRSB, said that the very low number of complaints that reached even stage two level adjudication proved that members have develop sound complaints handling procedures. “Member charities continue to fundraise at a very high standard across all disciplines and, on the while, complaints remain reassuringly low,” he added.

2009, it appears, was a good year for the FRSB itself, not only with the significant increase in members reporting complaints, but with the expansion of its membership base by an additional 272 members. The organisation’s push into Wales has also paid off, with a 65 per cent increase in members in the country.  

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