# Interview with Fundraising Regulator Chair makes headlines

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/11/13/interview-with-fundraising-regulator-chair-makes-headlines/
- Published: 2017-11-13T18:24:33+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**An interview with Lord Grade, Chair of the Fundraising Regulator, was given front
page headline status in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph. He again shared his own views
on ‘charity pens’ and enclosures, on charities that had not responded to the Regulator’s
approaches, and on the fees charged by JustGiving.**

 

Headlined “Charities dodge begging ban”, equating professional fundraising with 
begging, the [interview](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/11/lord-grade-interview-know-stop-charities-making-cold-calls/)
by Chief Political Correspondent Christopher Hope focused on Lord Grade’s annoyance
with some charities’ use of unaddressed mail, or “anonymised “dear homeowner” mailshots”.
It stated that Grade “set out plans to stop charities sending free pens and cards
to attract donations”, although subsequently this was corrected in a statement by
the Fundraising Regulator.

## Advertisement

 

It was further claimed that Lord Grade had plans to introduce “further regulations
to force fundraising websites [only JustGiving was named in the printed interview]
to disclose hidden fees”.

 

The interview (on page 10) was headlined ‘I’m going to put a stop to those free 
charity pens’, suggesting that that was the Fundraising Regulator’s aim and/or within
its remit.

 

The death of **Mrs Olive Cooke** in 2015 appeared as early as the third paragraph
of the article. She was the Royal British Legion’s longest-serving volunteer poppy
seller. The interview was published on 11 November. (The Times even [covered this story](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/charities-dodge-rules-to-guard-public-from-begging-letters-5xbgxgzlg)
with an large photo of Mrs Cooke at the top).

 

The interview also stated that the new [Fundraising Preference Service](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/07/06/fundraising-preference-service-goes-live/),
established in July, had been used by “10,000” people who had “demanded their names
and addresses be removed from charity databases”.

 

The [figure for its first month](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/08/07/fundraising-preference-service-used-2617-people-first-month/)
to 7 August was **2,617**, or an average of **8.4 people an hour**. Two thirds of
the suppression requests came in the first six days after its launch.

 

By the end of August the number of people who had used it had risen to **3,718**.
It is not clear how that total nearly trebled over the next two months. It is possible
that there was confusion between the number of suppression requests and the number
of users.

 

Lord Grade also shared again his tactic for dealing with unwanted communications
from fundraisers. He pretends to be a “leading litigation barrister” and threatens
legal action. He claims this approach is effective: “I never hear from them again”.
He shared these tactics when addressing members of the Institute of Fundraising 
at its National Convention in 2016.

 

Despite the prominent and negative front page headline, neither Lord Grade nor Christopher
Hope used the word “begging” in the interview to refer to fundraising.

 

## “A really smart public response”

 

Lord Grade was referring to a [report published last month by the Fundraising Regulator](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/10/25/fundraising-regulator-report-shows-low-ratio-complaints-compared-fundraising-activity-for-2016/)
which detailed complaints about fundraising, an annual report that was initiated
by its predecessor the Fundraising Standards Board.

 

The report revealed that the largest source of complaints was direct mail (or “junk
mail” as the Telegraph referred to it), with 16,000 of the 43,000 complaints received
in 2016 relating to this fundraising method. Hope wrote: “More than 80 per cent 
of these concerned enclosed free items such as unsolicited pens, badges and Christmas
cards”.

 

Lord Grade praised the public’s response, and presumably its understanding of fundraising
expenditure, testing and results. He said: “They are saying, ‘Why are they spending
this money? That could go to the charity’, which actually is a really smart public
response”. 

 

Despite two years as Chair of the Fundraising Regulator, he did not explain that
expenditure on direct mail typically raises more money than it costs, hence its 
longstanding and widespread use by many charities.

 

## “Lack of awareness” of fees charged by crowdfunding platforms

 

Lord Grade told Hope that “he was also concerned about a lack of awareness among
donors about fees charged by crowdfunding platforms to run donation pages”. In the
article he mentions only [JustGiving, which charges 5%](http://justgiving.com/fees)
to provide the service that has raised $4.5 billion since 2001.

 

## FRSB and Fundraising Regulator statistics

 

Lord Grade did not mention that the statistics about complaints about fundraising
enclosures in the Fundraising Regulator’s complaints report differ markedly from
those in the Fundraising Standards Board’s reports.

 

The [Fundraising Regulator’s latest report](https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/A-report-on-complaints-received-by-charities-about-fundraising-in-2016-October-2017.pdf)
for 2016 says that **82%** of complaints about addressed direct mail were related
to enclosures (page 10). The figure in the [FRSB’s report for 2015](https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/FRSB-Annual-Complaints-Report-2016-1.pdf)
was **just 14% **(see figure 18 on page 28). That was  3,128 complaints, up from
1,492 in 2014.

 

One (or both) could have been wrong, or perhaps the UK charity sector had substantially
increased its unaddressed mail activity. The latter is not impossible, given the
closure of so many telephone fundraising and face-to-face agencies during 2015-16.

 

## Responses and clarifications

 

The Fundraising Regulator [issued a response](https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/2017/11/11/statement-daily-telegraph-article-mail-enclosures/)
later that day to “clarify” its Chair’s comments.

 

The response stated: “The Fundraising Regulator does not seek to ban ‘enclosures’
in addressed mail, although we recognise that they are an issue for some people 
and we are speaking to charities about the concerns revealed in our Complaints Report;
nor do we believe that charities are dodging rules in this respect.”

 

Stephen Dunmore, Chief Executive of the Fundraising Regulator, was quoted in the
article explaining that unaddressed mail, a service offered to businesses and charities
by the Royal Mail, was not within the Regulator’s remit. “If it is addressed to 
an individual then the Fundraising Preference Service will stop it; if it is just
mail that comes through then there is no one stopping it because the Post Office
has to deliver it”.

 

Lord Grade issued a clarification himself, writing for [Civil Society Voices](https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/voices/lord-grade-charities-positive-response-to-fps-has-paid-off.html),
in which he stated that “the regulator was not looking to stop charities sending
unaddressed mail, nor ban any “enclosures” within addressed direct mailings to supporters”.

 

NCVO’s Policy Director Karl Wilding further explained: “Charities need to be able
to get in touch with people in order to attract new supporters, and writing to addresses
in a specific area is an efficient way for them to do that. Unfortunately, Royal
Mail don’t exclude specific addresses when they’re delivering to an area, they either
deliver to all homes or none”.

 

Wilding was interviewed later in the day on Sky News, and subsequently shared some
of his thoughts and reactions to the Telegraph’s story.

 

> 2/ The headline is ideological nonsense. I get it generates sales/clicks, but 
> it undoes good work both the journalist and newspaper have done to uncover poor
> practices in our sector that needed to change.
> — Karl Wilding @Ka*********@***dn.social (@karlwilding) [November 11, 2017](https://twitter.com/karlwilding/status/929408172124762112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

 

 

> 3/ Here’s some really useful stuff from [@ncvo](https://twitter.com/NCVO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> on how to talk about your charity: [https://t.co/YYslOQb7Gt](https://t.co/YYslOQb7Gt)
> This is how we do it. It would be great if you (and your donors) join in with 
> us on days like today.
> — Karl Wilding @Ka*********@***dn.social (@karlwilding) [November 11, 2017](https://twitter.com/karlwilding/status/929408320783507456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

 

 

> 6/ Some of the content is wrong too. The [@FundrRegulator](https://twitter.com/FundrRegulator?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> is not seeking to ban inserts such as pens in fundraising mailings. This is uncomfortable
> for [@FundrRegulator](https://twitter.com/FundrRegulator?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw),
> but we need to ask why things are getting lost in translation.
> — Karl Wilding @Ka*********@***dn.social (@karlwilding) [November 11, 2017](https://twitter.com/karlwilding/status/929408671045640192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

 

 

> 7/ Lord Grade – chair of [@fundrregulator](https://twitter.com/FundrRegulator?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> rather has a knack of weaponising the issue – the data from today was published
> last month. I understand the need to make the public feel they have a champion,
> but…given the push by charities to change, so now does his narrative
> — Karl Wilding @Ka*********@***dn.social (@karlwilding) [November 11, 2017](https://twitter.com/karlwilding/status/929408890290176000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

 

 

> 8/ As a charity sector we have a good story to tell about how we have listened
> to the public and acted on their concerns. Stronger, better fundraising regulation.
> A shift away from approaches that lots of people did not like. 
> We have come a
> long away. We're better, not perfect.
> — Karl Wilding @Ka*********@***dn.social (@karlwilding) [November 11, 2017](https://twitter.com/karlwilding/status/929409197254594561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

 

 

> 9/ Complaints now – eg unaddressed mail – feel more like edge cases than mainstream.
> But they are concerns that some in the public nevertheless are expressing – and
> they’re being expressed more thoughtfully.
> — Karl Wilding @Ka*********@***dn.social (@karlwilding) [November 11, 2017](https://twitter.com/karlwilding/status/929409305446682625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

 

 

> 10/ The public’s concerns about inserts, for example, are expressed from the perspective
> that they are inefficient, directing resources away from charitable expenditure.
> We have to engage with these concerns. They’re justified. [#sortoutorexplain](https://twitter.com/hashtag/sortoutorexplain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> — Karl Wilding @Ka*********@***dn.social (@karlwilding) [November 11, 2017](https://twitter.com/karlwilding/status/929409479036358656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

 

 

> 11/ Finally, amidst all the noise, it can be difficult to remember that the British
> public are incredibly generous. They continue to support charities, giving time
> and money. Let’s continue to make them proud to do that.
> — Karl Wilding @Ka*********@***dn.social (@karlwilding) [November 11, 2017](https://twitter.com/karlwilding/status/929409564688166912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

 

 

The **Institute of Fundraising** published a [response to the Daily Telegraph’s coverage](https://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/about-us/news/iof-response-to-daily-telegraph-article-on-fundraising/).
It stated: “This is a misleading headline and does not reflect the high standards
in the way charities raise vital funds.”

 

It attempted to put Lord Grade’s comments and the Regulator’s annual complaints 
report into context. “Across the charity sector there is a very low proportion of
complaints compared to contact with the public, as the Fundraising Regulator highlighted
when they produced their annual complaints report earlier in the year. “

 

The Institute restated the role and value of fundraising: “Research shows that 80%
of people say that they donated to a charity after being asked to, rather than as
a spontaneous decision. Without fundraising we would not have the same level of 
charitable giving.” It also highlighted the responsiveness and transparency of charities:“
Where issues or concerns are highlighted, including by the Fundraising Regulator,
individual charities respond rapidly and the fundraising community works collectively
to address these. ” 

 

## Other charity content in the Daily Telegraph

 

Saturday’s Daily Telegraph contained a number of fundraising inserts from charities
and fundraising organisations which doubtless would not have welcomed the term ‘
begging’ in a headline about fundraising on that day.

 

> Yesterday's Telegraph, along with the unsolicited charity appeals it came with.
> H/t Jenny-Anne Dexter who pointed this out on Fundraising Chat. [pic.twitter.com/Yts3t7UXFE](https://t.co/Yts3t7UXFE)
> — Rogare (@RogareFTT) [November 12, 2017](https://twitter.com/RogareFTT/status/929668809417510912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

It was also the day on which the newspaper launched its [Christmas Charity Appeal](https://telegraph.charitiestrust.org/telegraphappeal.aspx)
on behalf of **Missing People**, **Canine Partners** and **FareShare**. The appeal’s
logo sat alongside the ‘begging’ headline on the front page. 

 

![Telegraph Christmas Charity Appeal 2017](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/
2017/11/telegraph-christmas-charity-appeal-2017.jpg)

_‘Begging’ (to use its own headline) on behalf of charities?_

 

Just above it was the poppy symbol, which is used by permission from the Royal British
Legion.

 

A [petition calling for Lord Grade to resign](https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.change.org%2Fp%2Fstephen-dunmore-lord-grade-should-resign-as-chairman-of-the-fundraising-regulator)
as Chair of the Fundraising Regulator is still available on change.org.

 * **[Self-regulation – where the hell's it going](https://fundraising.co.uk/2006/09/12/selfregulation-where-hell039s-it-going/)**(
   12 September 2006)
 * **[Standards Board to delay launch "until the spring"?](https://fundraising.co.uk/2006/11/11/standards-board-delay-launch-quotuntil-springquot-0/)**(
   11 November 2006)
 * **[Sense marathon advert featuring FSB tick](https://fundraising.co.uk/2006/12/15/sense-marathon-advert-featuring-fsb-tick/)**(
   15 December 2006)

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