New figures from the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association signal a return to growth in the street fundraising market, with a 10 per cent increase in sign-ups during 2013/14.
PFRA members recruited 138,456 monthly donors through street fundraising in the last financial year, compared to 125,827 in 2012/13.
It comes after last year’s figures showed street sign-ups were down by 47 per cent from a high of 238,273 in 2011/12.
The sharp decline was put down to the closure of the biggest fundraising agency Gift fundraising, which went into administration in February 2012 and had provided 30 per cent of street fundraising in the UK.
The new figures, released ahead of the PFRA’s AGM on Wednesday, show in-house charity teams have continued to provide the majority of street fundraising activity, signing up 60 per cent of donors in 2013/14.
As a result of agency closures, in-house charity teams stepped in and provided a record 56 per cent of sign ups in 2012/13, compared to just 27 per cent the previous year.
The PFRA has 250 of its site management agreements in place with local authorities around the UK. These regulate street fundraising by setting out where, when and how many fundraisers work in an area.
Sally de la Bedoyere, chief executive of the PFRA, said: “We now have more managed fundraising sites up and running across the country than ever before. Importantly, this shows that the self-regulatory model is not only raising standards, but also helping charities sustainably recruit more supporters.”
Doorstep recruitment up 4 per cent
Door-to-door fundraising sign ups were also up in 2013/14, increasing 4 per cent to 627,512, the PFRA figures show. Recruitment had fallen by 3.9 per cent to 600,665 in 2012/13.
Doorstep is predominantly provided by agencies, with just 7 per cent of donors signed up by in-house teams. But that is up from one per cent in 2012/13, the figures show.
The figures show the technique continues to dominate face-to-face fundraising recruitment.
Last year, doorstep was thrust into the spotlight after the Fundraising Standards Board’s complaints survey show complaints about the technique were up 93 per cent to 5,555 in 2012.
The PFRA has since been testing a compliance regime to enforce good standards in doorstep fundraising. The Institute of Fundraising is setting up a working group to review the rules and guidance around doorstep fundraising contained in its Code of Fundraising Practice.
The PFRA's figures are the topic of further analysis in the June issue of Fundraising Magazine.
