Fundraising complaints at large charities plateaued last year despite some organisations returning to face-to-face campaigns, according to new data.
Civil Society has analysed data available from 50 of the largest fundraising charities for the past five years, with all but one now providing figures for each year.
Most charities (26) surveyed over the past two years saw a decrease in the number of complaints they received in 2022-23.
But the remaining 23 organisations reported an increase, with many citing the return of in-person fundraising practices as a factor.
Overall, Civil Society found complaints at the charities which responded in the past two years fell from 14,018 in 2021-22 to 12,401 in 2022-23.
However, most of this decrease was due to a change in how Macmillan Cancer Support reports its complaints.
Removing Macmillan from both years’ samples, complaints to the largest charities rose by less than 1% from 10,247 to 10,271.
The Woodland Trust was the only charity in the sample not to provide its fundraising complaints for 2022-23. Due to a data breach at the charity, it has not reported its fundraising complaints since the financial year 2019-20.
Return to in-person fundraising sparks complaints
Alzheimer’s Society saw its complaints rise by 32% from 443 to 587 for the financial year ending March 2023. The charity said the increase was due to the “return of in-person activity” as well as adding more fundraising activities to its portfolio.
Young Lives vs Cancer received 106 complaints during the financial year 2022-23, 72% of which were about face-to-face fundraising.
Oxfam also saw its complaints rise from 142 to 200 for the financial year ending March 2023, a rise of 40%, which the charity said was due to an increase in its face-to-face fundraising activity.
Likewise, Guide Dogs said it experienced a full return to face-to-face events in 2022, which it said was the reason its complaints rose from 123 to 158 over a year-period.
Meanwhile, Barnardo’s saw a decrease in complaints from 113 to 106, which it put down to “the number of concerns raised from our face-to-face fundraising activities being lower than the previous year”.
Veterinary charity PDSA also saw its complaints drop from 113 to 44 for the financial year ending December 2022.
But the charity wrote in its accounts that 13 of the complaints received in 2022 were related to its face-to-face fundraising, a rise on the previous year but PDSA said this was proportionate in line with its increased activity.
Ross MacKay, head of philanthropy at PDSA, said: “We regularly review our fundraising activity to make sure our strategy is aligned with what our different audiences want from PDSA.
“By doing this, we can easily adapt and make changes to suit what each audience likes to see most from us at that time. The landscape is ever-changing so what works one year may not work the next and we believe it is important to be flexible to that.”
Macmillan remains most complained about charity
Macmillan reported a significant drop in complaints from 3,771 to 2,130. However, the charity told Civil Society that this decline was due to a change in the way it logs complaint. It no longer reports “unsubstantiated negative comments that relate to the nature of the content itself”, a move approved by the Fundraising Regulator.
Despite this change, Macmillan remained the most complained about charity in Civil Society’s research sample for the fifth consecutive year.
Claire Rowney, executive director of fundraising, marketing and innovation at Macmillan, said: “Feedback from our supporters is incredibly important to us, which is why we take extra measures that allow us to hear from them more often.
“Unlike many other charities, we log any ‘expression of dissatisfaction’ on our owned social media channels and about our paid advertising as a complaint.
“This means that the number of complaints we receive seems to be higher, but taking this approach allows us to capture more feedback.
“This rigorous reporting method is supported by the Fundraising Regulator and allows us to get a better understanding of what our supporters need from us and how we can ensure we’re doing our best to meet their expectations.”
Macmillan said around 500 of the complaints reported were in relation to it cancelling fundraising events following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Most complained about charities
The second most complained about charity was lifeboat charity RNLI, which reported a decrease in complaints last year from 1,105 to 1,038.
RNLI said it sent out 32 million pieces of targeted marketing communications during the financial year, seven million more than the previous year.
Cancer Research UK received the third most fundraising-related complaints, rising from 830 to 920, which the charity said was in line with its increased levels of fundraising activity for the year.
In its annual accounts for the year to December 2023, CRUK said a return to “activities which had been paused during the pandemic” could also have contributed to the rise.
RSPB sees more than 300% rise in complaints
Bird protection charity RSPB saw its complaints rise by 348% from 54 to 242 between 2021-22 to 2022-23, making it the highest rise in the entire sample.
RSPB did not respond to a request for comment on why they felt its complaints increased this much over the year-period.
Despite recent criticism over a political social media post that sparked a compliance case into the charity, as the post was made in August this would not be included in the charity’s latest financial year which ended in March 2023.
British Red Cross Society also saw its complaints more than double, increasing by 151% to 301 last year.
Its latest accounts state that the rise was “proportional to the increase in our fundraising activity”.
Meanwhile, Save the Children UK saw fundraising complaints rise by 73% over a year-period from 269 to 465.
The charity wrote in its accounts that the increase was down to face-to-face fundraising resuming after the pandemic and in response to its decision to decline a $1m donation from the fossil fuel company Neptune Energy.
Its accounts state: “Save the Children UK will continue to take a principled stand on important issues affecting children, which may generate complaints when the issues are complex and controversial.
“Complaint rates will inevitably vary from year to year and are likely to increase again in 2024 as we return to pre-pandemic levels of fundraising activity.”
BHF complaints drop
British Heart Foundation (BHF) saw its fundraising complaints almost halve from 574 to 258 for the year ending March 2023.
This is below its pre-pandemic levels of fundraising complaints, with the charity receiving over 1,300 complaints in 2018-19 and 618 complaints in 2019-20.
BHF did not say why it thought its complaints saw a significant drop during the most recent financial year.
Leah Mates, director of marketing, fundraising and engagement at BHF said: “In the context of the millions of people we interact with every year, we receive very few complaints, and the vast majority of people have extremely rewarding experiences.”
Door-to-door complaints at GOSH Charity
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Charity saw its complaints rise by 33% over the year-period to 900 complaints, making it the fourth most complained about charity in the sample.
GOSH Charity reported a record income of £108m in the year ending March 2023, with fundraising income streams accounting for 92% of the charity’s overall income at £97m.
In its accounts, the charity said the increase in complaints is “directly attributable to the fact that we have significantly increased our fundraising activity during the year”.
It comes after the charity hit a £100m fundraising target last May in its largest-ever campaign.
GOSH Charity said some of the complaints it received were about door-to-door fundraising.
“We acknowledge and appreciate that door-to-door fundraising does generate complaints, however it is a crucial form of fundraising that provides the charity with the opportunity to talk to individuals and potential donors about the impact of their donation, which is a key part of our supporter commitment,” its accounts read.
Since the filing of these accounts, allegations were reported in the Times that subcontracted fundraisers working on behalf of GOSH Charity were using “pressure-selling” techniques to encourage people to donate.
The charity subsequently reported itself to regulators and told Civil Society it was “deeply concerned” by the allegations and had launched a full external investigation into the complaints made.
Least complained about charities
Westminster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust said it received no complaints last year, down from one the year before, making it the least complained about charity in the sample.
Jewish Care was the second least complained about charity in the sample with a single complaint about the attendance of dogs at one of its events.
MS Society and the National Trust, which both received 11 complaints, were also among the least complained about charities.
