The Fundraising Standards Board has recommended that the Institute of Fundraising issues a policy on whether fundraisers should visit houses displaying ‘no cold calling’ stickers.
The regulator made the recommendation in its latest adjudication, published today, about a complaint filed against Marie Curie Cancer Care and the agency Home Fundraising.
It was about a fundraiser acting on behalf of the charity who called at a household displaying a ‘no cold callers’ notice. The fundraiser called after dark, at 7pm, and did not leave when it was made clear the visit was unwelcome, the FRSB’s adjudication report says.
The regulator did not uphold the complaint. But it issued recommendations that the Institute should include a policy about whether fundraisers should visit households displaying such stickers in its Code of Fundraising Practice.
It also calls for the current cut-off time of 9pm for doorstep fundraising to be reviewed and for the Institute to provide more clarity about when a fundraising pitch should be terminated.
Both Marie Curie and Home said it was their policy not to knock on doors displaying no cold calling signs and said the fundraiser had not seen the sign, the report says.
The householder first complained to the charity in December last year and went on to allege that Home’s bonus payment structure had a negative impact on the way the fundraiser had behaved, the FRSB’s report says.
The complainant was unsatisfied by the charity and agency’s responses and was referred to the FRSB. When his home was visited by another Home fundraiser, working for another charity, the issue was escalated to the highest level of FRSB adjudication and considered by the regulator’s board in March.
The board ruled there was no evident breach of fundraising standards. But it recommended that Home reviews its systems to ensure that it does not re-visit households that do not want to be approached by doorstep fundraisers.
Colin Lloyd, chair of the FRSB, said: “Charities, trade bodies and practitioners have long debated whether it is acceptable for fundraisers to knock at households displaying no cold calling signage. We recommend that a clear policy on this is set out within the Code of Fundraising Practice to ensure greater consistency across the sector.”
Doorstep compliance regime
The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association has taken legal advice about no cold calling stickers.
It issued updated guidance to members in January and is working with the Institute to update the code.
The guidance says the legislation is not “clear cut”, but could apply to door-to-door fundraisers and if fundraisers ignore prominent notices, making it clear they are ‘requested to leave’, they could risk breaching unfair trading regulations.
The PFRA has also been trialling a new doorstep compliance regime in London, which it is now planning to roll out nationally.
The IoF said it was setting up a working group to review the rules and guidance around doorstep fundraising contained in its code.
It will involve charities, fundraising suppliers and agencies, as well as the PFRA and the FRSB, and report later this year.
Peter Lewis, chief executive of the Institute, said: "This review will make sure the code continues to set standards of practice which will maintain and grow the high levels of public trust and confidence charities currently enjoy.”
Dominic Will, joint managing director of Home, said: "We maintain a regular dialogue with the IoF and look forward to contributing to any ongoing review of the code as it relates to door to door fundraising.
“However we believe it is in the interest of protecting fundraising income and best practice for regulatory policy to be developed from the basis of empirical evidence and not echoing a vocal minority that simply do not like any forms of mass market fundraising.”
Fabian French, director of fundraising at Marie Curie, said: “We welcome the FRSB’s adjudication, which does not uphold a complaint filed against Marie Curie and acknowledges the charity’s effective and sensitive handling of the original complaint.”
