Enough is enough. A right big moan
Howard Lake | 3 April 2009 | Blogs
Right I’m going to have a moan. A right big moan.
Over the past few weeks and months, aside from an amazing trip to the SxSW Music Festival in Austin Texas (and here is a shameless plug for our music blog http://madmackerel.blogspot.com/ if you want to check out some decent new tunes) I have been talking to donors.
That’s real, live charity supporters. Supporters by direct debit, by cash, by doing events, by campaigning, through their family trusts, at work – a whole range of methods. And these are supporters to a wide range of causes – animal welfare, medical research, the environment, overseas, children, and many, many more.
I have been talking to them about a whole range of fundraising topics both formally and informally. In groups and individually, and as always it has been a fascinating, motivating, inspiring, occasionally frustrating, and surprising experience.
But, by and large, in the conversations, one complaint has emerged over and over again about our fundraising methods. What was most interesting was that I didn’t raise the issue once, nor did I lead any conversations towards this topic. Each and every group, or individual raised it directly themselves.
I’m sure by now you’re desperate to know what it is…
It is direct mail.
Not most direct mail. A lot of people professed to like some, or even a lot, of the direct mail appeals they got, which was nice to hear.
No, it was one particular aspect of direct mail.
It was the “free gift” packs they didn’t like. The umbrellas, scarves, socks, nappies (!), coppers on the outside of the envelope – the list seems endless sadly. I prefer the term one donor used actually, he just said it was “utter garbage that treats us like fools”.
More concerning, were the number of people who were genuinely distressed by receiving these items – perplexed, some shocked, and almost all upset at being made to feel guilty through no fault of their own. It really got to me when one lovely lady produced a scarf from her bag and asked me why a charity had sent it to her – she burst into tears when she described how she had sent them £15 she could ill-afford to cover the costs of the scarf because she felt she “ought to”. It made me ashamed of my profession and that is not a nice feeling.
Now I’m not against incentives in packs when they have a genuine role to play. Some of the Raffle packs with their address labels make perfect sense, and the original Amnesty pen-pack is one of my favourite fundraising appeals ever. However, the subsequent bandwagon jumping, contrived, stupid “free pen to fill in your direct debit form” are some of my most loathed.
Personally I’ve heard enough, and I’ve had enough of this approach to fundraising.
There is no possible argument to defend this approach. Sure it raises money, but at a wider cost that upsets people, damages everyone else’s efforts, and make no mistake, taints us as a sector.
I think it should be stopped.
Stopped as soon as possible.
I think it is lazy, exploitative, manipulative, short-term, and totally cynical.
I think it gives decent, hard-working fundraisers a bad name – and that is the majority of us (presuming I can describe myself as one). And that is a very bad thing indeed.
I think it gives fundraising a much worse public image than we ever care to admit or acknowledge.
I think if your organisation uses these methods you should take a hard look at yourself and when you have done that, I think you should stop. Or get out of fundraising because I can’t believe this sector wants you.
I think fundraising is in the main, actually a supremely rewarding, professional, principled, and accountable activity.
I think we’re too damn nice sometimes. Just stop and actually think about it for a minute. Sending money on the outside of an envelope with a calculated over dramatic, emotive appeal for cash to a vulnerable, older person is outrageous. It is obscene. It is disgusting.
As a fundraiser, would you like your elderly mother, grandmother, aunt, or uncle to get such an appeal? I suspect if you care about them and their feelings, the answer is obvious.
I have spoken to so many nice, generous, concerned donors in a short space of time who truly hate it. They loathe it. And because of human nature being what it is, they think many decent charities that would never contemplate such an approach are also guilty of it.
It is a sad state of affairs.
Having said all that I don’t know if I’m over-reacting and maybe most fundraisers think it is fine (if you do, all I would say is please ask your own supporters what they think).
Nor do I know what I can do about it. Clearly it is not illegal and cannot be stopped by any regulations. I just feel inherently that as a profession we should do something to say to charities pedalling this utter trash that they have to stop and find a better way to raise their funds.
Am I alone in thinking actually enough is enough. We are better than this aren’t we?
Perhaps the IoF can do something, perhaps they already are. Either way, I’d like to see them be a lot more vocal and upfront about it. And I think we all should too. Then we could help in some way.
I feel like I should start a campaign and send everyone I know a postcard they can sign and send to, well send to someone (and there’s the problem), to prove there is a strong desire and momentum to do something about this.
I don’t have any reason to doubt the quality of the programme work or services these charities provide, but the way they raise money leaves a nasty lingering taste I can’t get rid of.
And I know I won’t get rid of it until it is stopped.
Suggestions welcome!
And apologies for the moan, Go and look at the music blog now and lighten the mood.
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.