Fundraisers need to listen to donors

13 Jul 2015 Voices

If we want to keep donors long term, we need to start listening to them, says Cian Murphy

If we want to keep donors long term, we need to start listening to them, says Cian Murphy.

Large charities in this country may feel they have perfected the art of fundraising. Indeed for many, it is more science than art – everything has been trialled, tested, refined and reworked for maximum return on the pound. One charity I have in mind even knows the exact thickness of coasters that they can send with a direct mail pack to maximise their return on investment. This is mainly to the good. Charities can minimise the risk they take with donors’ money and maximise income for their good work.

The risk in seeing fundraising purely in terms of response rates, churn rates and lifetime value is that the voice of the donor is lost. Above all else, charities rely on the goodwill of supporters to continue taking in the money they need to keep going.

While charities may mostly be held in high regard by the public, our research shows that this is not a given and certainly should not be taken for granted.

When people are asked what puts them off giving to charity, one of the most common responses is “fundraisers being too persistent” (43 per cent in 2014).

Close behind is “the methods chosen by the charity to raise funds being too intrusive” (38 per cent). Concern about how charities fundraise rises among those demographic groups most likely to be exposed to fundraising; older people and higher social grades. Top of the list of annoying fundraising methods are always telephone, doorstep and face-to-face – some of the most profitable.

We also know that trust in charities is volatile and that negative stories can have a real impact on how people view our sector. When scandals broke in the Irish press in late 2013 about two particular charities, there was a major crash in public trust that is still being felt today – many charities reported a significant drop in giving levels, despite not being connected to the stories in any way.

The general goodwill of donors towards charities is a powerful thing. But knowing as we do that it is a comparatively small number of people generating the largest proportion of charities’ income, it is important to keep track of that store of goodwill. While donors may keep sending in the cheques, if that goodwill keeps being simultaneously chipped away at, then charities may risk doing serious damage to their reputation and not know until it is too late.

There are some simple things that charities can do as a sector to build their reputation with the public. Too often there are stories of donors who have asked to be taken off a list and are still contacted by a charity. Most often this is a simple slip rather than anything more malicious, but it shows that some organisations need to take their database management more seriously.

Continuing to contact former donors with no interest in supporting you again is not only a waste of money, it risks damaging your reputation and that of the sector as a whole.

This applies to the Mailing and Telephone Preference Services too, with recent reports suggesting that charities are not respecting the wishes of people signed up to them. Whether this is down to carelessness or a desire to raise more money, it risks alienating another section of society.

One simple step in the right direction would be to simply respect ‘no cold calling’ signs on homes during doorstep fundraising. Another would be to give donors the option of how often they would like to be contacted in the year. Yes, these and other similar measures might cost the sector a small amount in the short term, but in the long term they will protect its reputation and trust for years to come, and make donors feel more valued and appreciated.

The main point is, as the Fundraising Standards Board has recently suggested, to give more control to donors over their relationship with charities.

Fundraising should not be what the average person thinks of when they think about charities. Their minds should be turning to causes like finding cures, supporting vulnerable children, helping people affected by disaster and war, and supporting rights and justice in this country and abroad. Of course fundraising is vital to achieving these goals, but it should be the means to the end, not the main story. It is only by proactively defending their reputation with the public that charities can stop this being the case.

Cian Murphy is the head of data analysis at nfpSynergy

More on