The number of charities not accessing requests to suppress people on their marketing databases has almost doubled in five months, according to the Fundraising Regulator.
In August 2023, the regulator reported that 35 requests had not been read by 22 charities.
This has now almost doubled to 61 requests not being accessed by 43 charities as of 1 January 2024.
The regulator’s Fundraising Preference Service (FPS) allows people to request to stop direct marketing communications from charities registered in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Charities named in the current list of those that have not responded to requests include Sistah Space, Hope Africa and Muslims in Need.
Failing to act on these requests within 28 days of receiving a request is a breach of the regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice.
More charities receiving first requests
The regulator told Civil Society that from 1 November 2023, 48 requests had not been accessed by 34 charities which increased as of 1 January 2024.
It put charities non-compliance during the period down to more charities receiving a suppression for the first time, which can take longer.
The regulator also said that changes implemented to the FPS in 2022 mean that the number of suppressions that can be made in a single online transaction increased, resulting in an increase in charities being suppressed for the first time.
Some 2,869 charities have now set themselves up on the regulator’s secure FPS charity portal, a 19% increase from the number of users reported in its most recent 2021-22 accounts.
A spokesperson for the Fundraising Regulator said: “The FPS acts as an important safeguard for the sector. It provides members of the public control over the direct marketing communications they receive from charities and allowing them to end contact with charities they no longer want to hear from, which is particularly important for vulnerable individuals.
“In order to comply with the Code of Fundraising Practice and data protection law, it is vital that charities take the simple steps to act on FPS requests within 21 days of being notified that they have received a suppression request.”
