Face-to-face fundraising generated 690,000 new donors in 2002
Howard Lake | 13 June 2003 | News
Members of The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association secured 690,000 new donors from face-to-face and door-to-door fundraising during 2002.
Each new donor pledged to give regular and long-term financial support. The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) said that “these figures go to show the technique of approaching donors face-to face on the street and door-to-door is continuing to be highly successful, particularly for attracting younger, first time donors.”
Greenpeace commented in April 2003 that “in the last 3 years 75% of new supporters have come through face-to-face recruitment.” A month before that Oxfam reported that “over two thirds of people recruited by Face to Face are under 35.” Age Concern England have found it worked well for them: “This has proven to be one of the best ways of raising awareness of our local services while attracting committed supporters for the future at a low cost,” said a spokesperson in April 2003.
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In announcing the figures for 2002, the PFRA estimated that these new donors represented income of about £240 million. Reaching such a total was rather complicated, the organisation admitted. Minimum donations are £5 a month, although many people give much more, up to £15 a month. This gift can continue for an average of 5 years, though the longest on the PFRA’s records has been giving for over 13 years. A recent Henley Management study has suggested £350 as the average lifetime value of a donor. The PFRA multipled this figure by the number of pledges to arrive at the total estimate of £240 million.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.