Support Direct, the company that provides door-to-door fundraisers to Fundraising Initiatives, is to end its contract with the fundraising agency and go it alone.

Support Direct, which is part of the Cobra Group, a global supplier of field staff, has supplied fundraisers to Fundraising Initiatives for the last eight years. Clients of Fundraising Initiatives – including National Deaf Children’s Society and Pattaya Orphanage Trust – were made aware of the changes in the latter part of 2007.  The changes will take effect from March 2008 – the same time as many of fil’s charity contracts come to an end. Support Direct is currently in the process of pitching those charities and others for business.

The news surfaced at the same time as Fundraising Initiatives made three of its directors redundant. They join 12 other members of its senior staff who were made redundant in the autumn of 2006. New business development manager Kevin Kibble, whose role changed from managing director soon after the first round of redundancies, joins those who have lost their jobs.

He has since joined Whitewater (see People Moves January 2008).

Fundraising Initiatives has insisted the job cuts are not a result of any financial instability. “The redundancies were the result of a restructuring of the group,” said a spokeswoman. “The group is in a healthy state and all business projections are also healthy.”

The spokeswoman also confirmed that two new field staff suppliers have been recruited and that FIL will be developing a series of new business offerings to the sector. “FIL has been in this business for many years and really do understand the sector. It is well placed to deal with the competition,” she said. Charities have welcomed the introduction of a new supplier, saying that greater choice can be a good thing. Support Direct were unwilling to comment on their plans at this time.