The Institute of Fundraising will host its first ever face-to-face fundraising conference in September at which the issue of opposition to the fundraising technique will be addressed.
The Institute has announced it will hold the conference on the 30th of September, and has developed the programme after consultation with its membership base.
Issues around opposition to street and door-to-door fundraising will also be tackled at the conference, in a panel discussion to include the Institute, Public Fundraising Regulatory Association and the Fundraising Standards Board.
Last year 625,000 new donors were recruited by the mechanism.
PFRA chief executive Mick Aldridge described the event as a long-awaited acknowledgement of the place of face-to-face in the fundraising tool kit. “Face-to-face is one of the few methods of fundraising that is holding its own during the recession with some charities reporting that it’s the only donor recruitment method that works for them. Yet some people within the charity sector continue to refuse to acknowledge that face-to-face is an integral part of the fundraising mix,” he said.
“That’s why it is so important that charities and agencies are coming together at this conference to share what works for them and to reinforce the case for investing in face-to-face fundraising.”
Richard Verden, head of individual giving at the British Red Cross, will be chairing the event.
Video on face-to-face for councils
Meanwhile, the PFRA has produced an online video for town managers and councils about face-to-face fundraising best practice. The video is designed to inform and prepare councils for what may happen when face-to-face fundraisers begin operations in their area.
The content of the video goes beyond the Institute's code of practice, including rules on the solicitation statement and the 'three step rule'.
Nick Henry, PFRA’s head of standards, said: “The Institute of Fundraising’s Code of Practice on Face-to-Face Activity lays the ground rules for best practice but there is a lot that fundraisers have to do that isn’t specified in the code.”
