Belfast reporter goes undercover as face-to-face fundraiser
Howard Lake | 26 February 2005 | News
Mary Fitzgerald, a reporter at the Belfast Telegraph, worked undercover as a face-to-face fundraiser and reports on her experiences, offering a well-balanced article on this type of fundraising.
Mary Fitzgerald’s feature in The Belfast Telegraph is entitled “Irritating? Perhaps, but chugging works and it’s here to stay.” This sums up her experience of being recruited and trained by and then working (admittedly just for one day) for Gift, the face-to-face fundraising agency.
She acknowledges the hard work put in by the fundraisers and the fact that the technique has worked successfully for many charities. At the same time, she notes that most passers-by do their best to avoid having to talk to the fundraisers.
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It is easy to come across newspaper coverage that vilifies face-to-face fundraising, so it is encouraging to find an accurate account of what is involved both for the fundraiser and for the charities.
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.