John Low, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, says the sector needs to act quickly and come together to reform the culture of how organisations communicate with the public.
They say a week is a long time in politics, so where are we two weeks after the review of charity fundraising was released?
Spending time at three party political conferences in recent weeks, it’s clear that charities are still highly regarded by the political classes for their work, expertise and contributions to national debates.
But equally clear is the desire of government and opposition alike to deal with the tendency of some fundraising activity to leave people feeling pressured and powerless.
Sir Stuart Etherington’s review of fundraising was a down payment on action. There are details to be thrashed out, meat to be put on the bones, but the principles are clear. Donors don’t want to be hounded, and they want a way to opt out if need be.
The message from a torrid summer of headlines is that there is a genuine belief among many people that some fundraisers have gone too far. Our cherished trust in charities has been eroded, not fatally, but eroded nonetheless.
What is clear now is that a down payment by itself is not enough: all of us in charities need to implement real change that will rebuild trust in the idea of charity, and prevent the problems created by some fundraising practice from infecting the charitable sector as a whole.
That will mean looking at telephone fundraising and data sharing of course, but also looking at our culture and the other means by which we contact the public, to avoid problems in one area simply being shifted elsewhere.
Britain is one of the most generous countries in the world thanks to the trust and goodwill of millions of loyal charity supporters.
These people have the right to expect the highest standards from charities and fundraisers. In some cases, they have clearly been let down.
'Now is the time to grasp the nettle'
The fact that government had to intervene was disappointing. Charities and fundraisers should have done more to deal with this important issue themselves. Now is the time to grasp the nettle – if we do not then government may feel forced to intervene on our behalf.
And we can’t hang around. Government, the media and most importantly the public would be less than forgiving if this issue ended up in the long grass.
The good news is there is a growing consensus and a willingness among charities to act. Of course, all charities need to raise awareness of their cause, and of course they need to ask for support. But we need to do that in a way that does not alienate people.
We need a simple, independent and unified way of regulating fundraising and making sure everyone plays by rules that the public thinks are reasonable. And we need an easy way for donors to opt out if they think approaches for money have gone too far.
At the same time we need to do more to make the case for charities and show how the sector makes people’s lives richer and better every day
Of course many in the sector fear the impact on income, at least in the short run, if they have to rein in their fundraising efforts. But we are in the business of relationships, of fostering long term support from people who are after all giving freely from their own money to support causes they care deeply about.
If we treat people well, make the act of giving as rewarding as it should be, and make sure that a donation is always a gift freely given, then charities and their beneficiaries stand to gain. Building a base of loyal supporters familiar with the fulfilment of giving will serve the causes we support well.
Charities are an enormously resilient, enduring part of British society. They outlive governments, initiatives and policies. There’s a problem and we in charities will fix it – partly because we must, but overwhelmingly because it is the right thing to do.
