Undercover reporter reveals unethical door-to-door fundraising practices
Two major UK charities have launched investigations after an undercover reporter from WalesOnline released footage of face-to-face fundraisers breaking the Code of Fundraising Practice.
The Welsh newspaper revealed that workers at direct sales firm Vantage and Solution Cardiff employed pressure selling tactics to solicit donations from elderly people for SOS Children’s Villages UK and the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS).
Reporter Conor Gogarty, who conducted the investigation, undertook training with the agency. During the session, he was told to “trick” people “into saying yes” and “expand greed” in them but he didn’t receive any training on fundraising regulations or identifying vulnerable individuals.
He was then taken out on door-to-door calls with other fundraisers, during which he recorded secret footage of conversations with people on their doorsteps.
On the walkabout, Gogarty said he “witnessed a series of lies told on doorsteps to get elderly people to sign up to direct debits to charities”. He went on to say that “one pensioner had to say no four times before the sales rep stopped persisting. There was also an attempt to sign up a woman who was clearly confused. When the sales rep asked her if she banked in the UK, she answered, 'I'm 70-odd.’ Despite her confusion, the sales rep persisted - only walking away when the lady failed to give him a phone number.”
Response
Sarah Bradford, director of communications and brand at SOS Children's Villages UK, said of the footage, “this kind of behaviour, this working culture and these types of practices absolutely do not align with our values or the way we work. We demand extremely high standards from the agencies we work with to fundraise and are deeply concerned to hear of any experience where our required safeguards and quality controls are not being met.”
Bradford went on to say that, since seeing Gogarty’s footage, the charity has been in touch with the relevant regulatory bodies and “begun a thorough investigation into how this could have occurred”.
This includes checking all the paperwork, processes, training records and materials for fundraisers working on the campaign.
Due diligence
It remains to be seen how the reputation of the two charities will fare following the release of the footage. After all, unethical fundraising practices don’t make for great PR.
The footage also highlights the importance of due diligence.
Working with a fundraising agency can bring many benefits. They employ skilled and experienced fundraisers who are equipped to provide advice and expertise on how to carry out a great fundraising campaign.
But there are responsibilities that come with working with agencies.
Charities must undertake due diligence to ensure all fundraising carried out in their name is compliant and ethical.
Want to know more? The following resources will tell you everything you need to know.
Read The Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice section on Working with Third Parties
Review the rules around Solicitation Statements
Take a look at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s guidance on working with third parties.
Final Word
Need an eagle-eyed fundraiser to manage your fundraising compliance? We can help. Call us on 0203 750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get the conversation started.