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Record fundraising month for NSPCC saves services and makes history

Fundraising | 20 May 2009

The NSPCC has recorded its most successful fundraising month in history as the result of an emergency appeal designed to combat the financial crisis.

The appeal’s target of £2m was missed by some distance, but the £1.3m of new donations it prompted means a total £14.7m was collected in March – an all-time record.

The figures also mean the total raised by the charity in 2008/2009 was £137.7m, compared to £129m the previous year. Next year’s target has been set at £145m.

Director of fundraising Giles Pegram (pictured), said he is “very pleased” with the result of the appeal.

“We were worried because all the way through the year we had been focusing downwards as the crunch got worse and worse and the recession turned to a depression.

"We were closing services and I thought it was wrong to close services without giving donors the opportunity to save them.

“Had we not had a record month in March, I think the trustees would have been putting pressure on our services.

£2m notional target

'“We set a target of £2m but that was a notional target because last time we did one of these was many years ago. Last appeal of this type was in the 1980s when the charity went through a financial crisis.”

The recession prompted 150 redundancies at the organisation which had employed 2,500 people, and 13 of 174 projects were forced to close. The charity’s Your Family magazine also fell victim and is now only published online.

The emergency appeal was sent out to existing supporters via mail or e-mail – whichever their preferred method of communication – and cost £250,000.

'Hopefully seen worst of crisis'

The £1.3m it prompted does not include money from those who upgraded their monthly giving.

Pegram said: “Everyone worked extremely hard and we came in on our reforecast.

“Hopefully we have seen the worst of the financial crisis and have used the figures we are performing currently to set next year’s budget.”

He added: “Our mood now is bullish. People have left, we have said our goodbyes to people we have loved and cherished. We didn’t like to do it. Now we are focusing on the year and raising £145m for this year.”

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Directory: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)