Most members of the public remain uncomfortable with door-to-door fundraising by charities but opposition to the method has softened in recent years, according to new research from the Fundraising Regulator.
Almost two-thirds of the regulator’s survey respondents said they were uncomfortable with fundraisers visiting their homes, down from three-quarters when previous research was conducted in 2023.
Of those who had experienced door-to-door fundraising in the previous 12 months, 51% reported a bad experience, compared to 62% three years earlier.
Telephone fundraising was also unpopular, with 62% saying they were uncomfortable with this, although more respondents reported a positive (43%) than negative (33%) experience in the past year.
More people were comfortable (47%) with public collections such as those on highstreets or in supermarkets and a greater proportion reported a positive experience (42%) than three years earlier.
Donating goods rather than money was the most popular fundraising method, with 81% expressing comfort with this and 84% a good experience.
Most respondents also said they were comfortable with individual sponsorship, charity bags, lotteries and prize draws.
Overall, 64% of people who had experienced charitable fundraising in the previous 12 months reported having a positive experience.
‘Encouraging improvements’
Paul Winyard, head of policy at the Fundraising Regulator, said: “It’s encouraging to see improvements in the public’s experience of fundraising, particularly in areas that have historically attracted less favourable attention.
“That reflects the hard work and commitment the sector has shown to raising standards. This progress is to be applauded, but as we can see from the research, there is more work to be done.
“Charities must continue to invest in strong oversight, effective training and responsible fundraising practices so the public can give with confidence and charities can continue to thrive.”
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIOF) reported last year that donations through public fundraising methods has remained “resilient” post-Covid, with door-to-door fundraising showing an increase in sign-ups.
On the Fundraising Regulator’s new research, CIOF director of policy and communications Claire Stanley said: “Public fundraising is a vital income stream for charities – with door to door in particular bringing in the highest number of new regular givers in recent years – so it’s extremely encouraging to hear that more people are reporting positive experiences of this fundraising method.
“We want to continue this upward trajectory and keep making improvements so that more members of the public have good experiences when they engage with charities.
“We have been working closely with our public fundraising members over the past two years to create new partnerships guidance and our recently introduced training modules on public fundraising, and we are currently developing the next set of on-demand modules to ensure that we can create a gold standard in fundraising training, compliance and practice.”
A nationally representative sample of more than 3,000 people responded to the survey, conducted by Opinium in May.
