BHF warns public of misleading commercial charity bag collectors
Howard Lake | 31 August 2011 | News
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is warning the public as little as 30% of items donated to charity via letterbox charity bags stand a chance of ending up in charity shops.
The charity’s research reveals that 70% of charity bags received by the average householder receives are from commercial companies that work with charities on a for-profit basis, by selling the donated items overseas. In some cases just 5% of the value of the clothing is paid by the company to the charity.
The charity found that 65% of the public were not aware that these commercial companies existed, and that they assumed that charities received 100% of the profits made from their charity bag donations. BHF says that, when made aware of this, 85% of people surveyed said it made them “feel shocked, cheated and disheartened”.
The research has been published as BHF Shops begin their BIG Donation stock appeal for September. The charity says that it is “vital people understand where their charity bag donations are going so they can make an informed choice when choosing which charity to support.”
BHF also claims that the escalation in commercial activity has had a negative impact on charity bag donations. BHF Shops have seen a 36% drop in household collections, meaning a loss of £4.6 million to the charity over the last two years (2009-2011).
Retail Director for the BHF, Mike Lucas, said: “It is vital commercial companies act responsibly and be transparent on their charity bags – particularly around how much profit the named charity will actually make from a collection. Householders have the right to know what happens to their donations and currently this information is not clear.
He acknowledged that this method of fundraising is legal, but BHF chose not to work with these companies. “Because of this 100% of the profits made from charity bag donations stay with the charity – helping us continue our lifesaving work”, he added.
www.bhf.org.uk/bigdonation
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.