A mental health charity has exited a central government door-to-door collections scheme after deciding to focus on other forms of fundraising.
Mental Health Foundation previously held a national exemption order (NEO), which meant it was able to run door-to-door fundraising across the country without needing permission from individual councils.
Some 36 other charities currently hold NEOs including British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and Oxfam.
However, Mental Health Foundation has had its NEO revoked by request after finding that it had a better return on investment from other fundraising initiatives.
Alexa Charnley, director of fundraising and communications at Mental Health Foundation, said: “We are no longer running door-to-door fundraising so do not need the national exemption order.
“If we choose to run this type of fundraising again in the future, we will, of course, reapply for an NEO or permission from individual councils.”
Previous call for scheme removal
NEOs were previously at risk of being scrapped altogether following a recommendation in Lord Hodgson’s Charities Act review in 2012.
However, the government did not accept Lord Hodgson’s recommendation and larger charities have continued to sign up to the scheme over the past decade.
Research by the Fundraising Regulator last year found that door-to-door fundraising continued to be disliked by members of the public, with 62% of those surveyed reporting a negative experience.
According to a report this year, the 26 charities that reported using door-to-door fundraising methods to the regulator in 2023-24 collectively received 3,752 complaints about the practice.
In its annual complaints report, the regulator said: “Our cases have shown the importance of charities having sufficient oversight of their fundraisers, including details of the contracts, training, monitoring, and complaint handling throughout its supply chain, rather than relying mainly on its contractual requirements with fundraising agencies.
“These cases also highlight the importance of sufficient risk assessment of this fundraising method in light of changes to public habits and mood, and ensuring that systems designed to protect the vulnerable do not fail.”
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