Knowing who to call

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There is a mind-boggling array of requirements for telephone fundraising as summarised in this week’s telephone fundraising feature by Kaye Wiggins in Third Sector magazine: http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/Article/966747/Charity-fundraising-tel...

From the Information Commissioner’s Office to the Direct Marketing Association and the Institute of Fundraising (IOF), so many bodies have powers over telephone fundraising that it can be difficult to know where to go. Which way do you turn for definitive guidance and advice about what you can or can’t do?

As it stands, charities and suppliers involved in telephone fundraising need to keep on top of legislation produced by each and every one of the regulatory bodies and to best practice guidance set out in the IOF’s Codes. It’s not a small task, but it is the only way to keep on top of the latest guidance. When it comes to regulation, organisations should be going a step further and signing up to the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB).

What do you do when advice from one organisation doesn’t necessarily match up with what another is saying? (I’m not saying that the regulatory bodies conflict each other, but there are varying interpretations of the same guidance). For example, charities are clear about the requirements are for handling cold data, but there is widespread confusion around issues such as whether you can call warm contacts who are signed up to the TPS and what constitutes a marketing rather than fundraising call. Plus, with the impending review about the EU data protection Directive (launching in January next year), we need to ensure that we are up to speed with what is happening at a European level and what might be the implications for UK regulation.

These are important issues that can’t just be swept under the carpet. At Relationship Marketing, we issued a call for the leading regulatory bodies (in the UK and EU) to get their heads together and produce a set of clear and comprehensive guidance for telephone fundraising. The FRSB was quick to respond and is setting up a summit as we speak.

For the large part, the sector is doing a great job in raising funds using the phone. But, the fact is that we could be doing it even better if there were complete clarity about what is legally, professionally and morally acceptable in telephone fundraising.