Regular giving levels steady following Olive Cooke coverage
Howard Lake | 9 July 2015 | News
Has media coverage of the death in early May of volunteer fundraising Olive Cooke had an impact on charitable giving? Regular giving specialist Rapidata Services Plc has published charity Direct Debit donation cancellation rates for 2015, covering that period.
So far, there has been no immediate spike in cancellations. According to Rapidata, cancellation rates for the second quarter of 2015 shows April (2.86%), May (2.72%) and June (2.81%) as “steady”, with just a very slight increase of under half a per cent on June 2014’s cancellation rate of 2.39%. Rates would have to increase by at least 1% to be considered notable.
So, Rapidata is interpreting these figures as a sign of stability.
Post-recession regular giving is steady
Overall Rapidata’s figures suggest regular giving has remained steady. Cancellation rates peaked at 4.09% in June 2009 at the height of the recession. In 2012 they were down to 2.99%, and in 2013 and 2014 lower still, before rising very slightly so far this year.
Scott Gray, Managing Director of Rapidata commented:
“Regular giving appears to be in positive shape with those people who are already committed to a cause continuing to support their chosen charities. Recent media angles may have incited a degree of unrest and concern but our figures are encouraging and I believe British charities remain close to the hearts of the public at this time.
“However, whilst I see this as good news, there is anecdotal evidence that some fundraising campaigns are being delayed and others could experience reduced response rates. Whilst this does not impact cancellation rates in existing regular giving programmes, it could have an impact on the numbers of new regular donors being recruited, and the planned budgets and ROI for campaigns. We will continue to closely monitor cancellation rates over the coming months for signs of change.”Advertisement
[message_box title=”About Rapidata’s Charity Direct Debit Tracking Report” color=”blue”]
Rapidata’s Charity Direct Debit Tracking Report has been collating regular giving Direct Debit data since 2003 and the benchmark is used by charities, universities, fundraising consultants and strategists around the world. Rapidata’s research is based on the monthly Direct Debit collections data gathered from a segment of more than one hundred UK charities. The charities represent a wide range of causes and sizes of organisations. The 2014 Tracking Report can be downloaded for free.
Rapidata Services Plc has been supporting charities and not-for-profits with the collection, administration, and processing of Direct Debit payments since it was founded in 1997.
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Main image: months of the year by Igor Sorokin on Shutterstock.com
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.