12 per cent cancel direct debits, says survey

Fundraising | Vibeka Mair | 6 Jan 2009

Charities should consider allowing their donors to take ‘donation holidays' after new research showed that 12 per cent of regular donors have cancelled their direct debits to charities in response to the credit crunch.

This is the advice from marketing agency RAPP, which quizzed over 1,000 UK consumers aged over 25 on their current donation behaviour.

In addition to the 12 per cent who said they had already cancelled their direct debit to a charity, 8 per cent said they were "considering" cancelling and 11 per cent "considering lowering" their direct debit amount.

Younger people and the less affluent were those most likely to stop, or consider stopping.

Other methods of support

However, the research also showed that consumers are starting to support charities in other ways. Nearly half (47 per cent) of respondents said they had started donating clothes or goods. Others cited "wearing a charity badge or bracelet" and "volunteering help".

Gavin Hilton (pictured), planning director at RAPP, whose clients include NSPCC, Cancer Research UK, Crisis and Unicef, said: "There will need to be a greater focus on anti-attrition measures, reinforcing the importance of donor support and what their money is achieving, as well as thanking donors."

Hilton says a range of measures can address a downturn in donations, including ‘payment holidays', non-financial engagement or a one-off donation.

"It will be essential to keep causes in people's thoughts after cancellation," he warned.

See what Vibeka thinks about donation holidays in her blog

Directory: Cancer Research UK (CRUK) | Crisis | National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) | Unicef
Who's Who: Vibeka Mair

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